Clean Slate
by LShaune
Summary: What if somehow Hiei became a child and lost his memories? What if he was able to experience life as a human child? What if Hiei's condition was all Kuwabara's fault?Please Rate and Review, and give me your opinions on where this should go.
1. The Plan

This was the last straw, THE LAST STRAW, Kuwabara thought as he climbed the stairs to go to his room. Eichi mewed at him as he opened the door to his bedroom and hopped up next to him as he collapsed onto his bed to plot.

'He just can't get away with it, he can't,' Kuwabara thought as Eichi pawed at a few strands of his hair in an attempt to engage him in play. Kuwabara absently stroked the kittens fur as he tried to think up a way to get back at that shrimpy brat, Hiei.

This day's insults had begun as usual, with Kuwabara insulting Hiei's height and Hiei insulting his intelligence while everyone else looked on with exasperated expressions, until Yukina had appeared to offer them something to drink.

Then the little demon stood up and stated, "You're stupid, Kuwabara, stop trying to act otherwise and maybe we'll get along better, and maybe you won't look like such a fool in front of others." He'd left before Kuwabara could figure out the implied insult.

"Saying I act like an idiot in front of Yukina!" Kuwabara cried out in frustration and Eichi hopped into the air with a sudden shocked expression on her kitten face. "Sorry Eichi," Kuwabara said, scratching the kitten behind its ears. Slightly mollified, the kitten curled up and began to purr as he scratched its ears.

'There's gotta be something,' Kuwabara thought as he continued scratching Eichi's ears. 'Anything! Maybe dressing him up like a preschooler while he's asleep and then sending him to school? No. Lacing his ice cream with wasabi sauce? No. Ooo! Push him off a bridge! ...but there are none close by...' He laid there for a long time, staring at the ceiling and idly scratching Eichi's ears. Just when he thought no idea would come, he glanced over at his homework (which he probably wasn't going to do) and say his biology book. On the front, among the pictures of eyes and animals, was a picture of a flower.

Slowly, an idea formed, and then one half of a plan. Kuwabara grinned mischieviously and sat up, feeling better already. It was only half of a plan, but half was better then nothing.

The plan was simple: Find something sweet and then stick something else in it that was liable to give the demon a screaming case of the backdoor trots. The only problem was finding that little thing that would give that runt a screaming case of the backdoor trots. The flower had given him the idea for how to take care of that.

Kuwabara trotted down the street, winded and with a horrible stitch in his side. Still, when he turned the corner and spotted Kurama's house he couldn't have been happier. If he remembered right, Kurama had said he had after school stuff to do which meant he wasn't home right now. Kuwabara stopped and grabbed his side and huffed and puffed a bit. Maybe running all the way there was not as good an idea as he had first thought.

When he finally got his second wind, he straightened and rang the doorbell. Kurama's human mother, Shiori, answered the door with a small puzzled smile, "Yes, can I help you?"

"Oh, hi! I'm Kuwabara, and Ku- Shuichi was helping me study and I think that he might have a notebook of mine or something, do you mind if I check?" Kuwabara asked, trying to make his face look as honest as his words sounded. Shiori studied him for a long moment, so long Kuwabara was sure she was going to call his bluff and slam the door in his face, before nodding and opening the door wider.

"His room is upstairs and to the right," she offered as Kuwabara walked in.

"Thanks!" Kuwabara said as he hurriedly removed his shoes and headed upstairs. As he entered Kurama's room, several things struck him; how unbelievably tidy and orderly the room was and how many plants were there. It was a small, controlled jungle in there. Kuwabara edged in carefully and shut the door behind him. After making sure it was closed all the way, Kuwabara began his search.

Surely someone like Kurama, who carried and knew the uses for more plants than he could name, would have something in here that would give someone a stomach ache at least. As he searched though, he only found things like aloe or grassy looking plants, and something that looked like it could be useful but smelled strongly of mint.

He was about to give up when he found small jars of things that looked like seeds and herbs in a drawer. Searching through them he found a shriveled up pit, like the pit of an avocado or peach. He shooke it around a little bit in the jar, and after figuring it probably wouldn't kill, stuck the jar in his pocket and then searched through Kurama's notebooks until he found an empty one, and then he headed back downstairs.

"Oh, did you find everything Kuwabara?" Shiori asked as he came down the stairs.

"Yup!" Kuwabara held up the notebook and made a bee-line for the door and his shoes. "Thanks for letting me go up and get it."

"No problem, it's nice to know Shuichi has friends. He can be such a loner sometimes," Shiori opened the door for Kuwabara as he pulled his shoes back on.

"Uh, yeah, well thanks!" Kuwabara said, heading out the door. Once he was around the corner he broke into a run, the stitch in his side quickly returning as he ran. It was worth it though, just the idea of getting back at that runt was worth it.

Now he just had to put the plan into action... 


	2. The Prank

Second chapter! Behold! Anyways, please R&R so to speak, and thank you for reading. Um, anyone have any ideas on what should happen next? ;

Kurama pulled off his shoes at the door, looking slightly strained and amused as he did so. He wasn't sure how exactly his joining a chess team was suppose to help the other players 'get girls' but they had been pretty convinced it would work. He wasn't so sure.

"Shuichi, welcome home. How did everything go?" Shiori asked him, helping him with his school bag.

"Just fine, they're still trying to get me to join the chess team," Kurama said with an amused look. "Don't worry, Mother, I can get my books."

Shiori just nodded and gave him back his school bag. "Oh, Shuichi, one of your friends came by today," She said suddenly, just remembering the odd boy.

"Oh, which one?" Kurama asked, automatically assuming it was Hiei. He was the one that came by most often anyway.

"Um, I think he said his name was Kuwabara, he said he had left something of his here and just wanted to get it back," Shiori answered, heading to the kitchen. "He had a notebook when he left, so I think he found whatever it was he was looking for."

Kurama stopped and set his bag down. "Kuwabara was here for a notebook? What did he need it for?"

"He said he had been studying with you and left it behind," Shiori called from the kitchen. Now Kurama knew something strange was going on. He wasn't sure, but he was pretty certain that Kuwabara wasn't all that big on studying. So what had he come here for? Picking his school bag back up, Kurama headed to his room.

As he peeked into his room the only things that seemed odd were how many things looked out of place. His books were all out of order, his plants looked as if they'd been moved around, as well as a few other small things that pointed to intrusion.

After setting down his bag, Kurama began an almost automatic clean up, carefully reorganizing books, turning plants, picking up bits of scrap paper that had escaped from books or drawers. As he cleaned he marked off the things he found. All of his books were there, all of his plants were there (though he was pretty sure Kuwabara didn't make up an elaborate hoax to steal some daisy's), and all but one of his notebooks were there, but even the notebook had been a blank one. So what had he been there for?

As an after thought, Kurama began going through his drawers and found signs of rummaging and thoughtless clean up. He'd gone through here too. As Kurama cleaned up jars and packets of seeds, wondering just what exactly it was that Kuwabara had been searching for, he noticed an empty spot.

Kurama stopped, and then went through the drawer checking everything. It had to be there. He checked once, twice, three times. It was gone. Kurama swore under his breath, shut the drawer, and started back downstairs.

"I'll be right back Mother!" He called as he yanked on his shoes and headed back out the door.

"Shuichi?" Shiori watched her son nearly slam the door shut in his haste to get where ever it was that was so important. She watched him leave from the window, and frowned a little. He looked worried, and more then a little mad, which wasn't normal for her little boy. Shiori headed back to the kitchen and began dinner, wondering what troubled her little boy.

"...What are you staring at Kuwabara?" Hiei finally asked, getting sick of being gawked at like a zoo animal. Kuwabara quickly looked away from the small fire demon and grumbled something. Hiei sat back in his seat and refocused half of his attention on what everyone was talking about.

Yusuke had been talking for quite a while, something about school and teachers and how he was being screwed over by them, while Keiko had tried her best to convince him that they were just doing their jobs. Hiei had lost interest a while ago, and was now bored to tears. On top of that, Kuwabara had been giving him odd looks ever since Yukina had come in with a tray of snacks. It was as though he were expecting him to sprout a second head that sang Habanera any second. Needless to say, he hadn't.

"Yusuke, maybe if you didn't miss so much school the teachers wouldn't pick on you so much!" Keiko yelled, finally fed up with Yusuke's excuses.

"I'd rather miss school and be picked on then be a teacher's pet like you," Yusuke mumbled in what he must have thought was an inaudible voice. Hiei mentally counted down: 5, 4, 3, 2...

WHACK! Keiko's slap nearly knocked Yusuke to the ground. As Yusuke began building a defense of compliments and excuses while Keiko raged at him Hiei stood up and headed for the door, using the current crisis as a cover for escape. He was almost out the door when Kurama appeared. Hiei stepped aside quickly to avoid a collision.

"Kurama, watch where you're going," Hiei growled. Kurama stopped and caught his breath, looking as though he may have been running all over town for some reason or another. Hiei waited patiently for Kurama to start talking, all the while hearing the ominous rumble of Keiko's anger and Yusuke's fear inside the room.

"Is Kuwabara in there?" Kurama finally asked, not sounding at all like his usual level headed self.

"Yes, the fool is in there. Why do you need him?" Hiei asked curiously. Obviously Kurama had been going through a lot of trouble to find him, and he wanted to know why.

"I think he took something of mine that's very important," Kurama said quickly, and with that he headed into the chaos. Hiei shrugged to himself and started to walk away, only to trip over something and fall roughly to the ground. After standing back up, cursing soundly, and brushing himself off, Hiei looked around for something that may have caused his fall, but there was nothing. Rubbing the slight sting out of his hands he continued walked, never noticing how large his own clothes felt on him or how big everything else was beginning to look.

"Kuwabara!" Kurama said as soon as he entered the room, "Where is it?"

The fight between Keiko and Yusuke, which had been steadily heading in the direction of Yusuke's second untimely death, stopped instantly at Kurama's tone. Botan and Yukina looked over at Kurama, and then to Kuwabara who was looking more then a little worried. "Where's what?" Kuwabara asked.

"A jar with a large seed in it, did you take it?" Kurama asked, trying to reel in his anger. It was a tough thing to do, considering what had been stolen.

"Um, yeah I took it..." Kuwabara said, looking steadily more nervous. This calmed Kurama down a bit. At least he knew it was Kuwabara that took it and not someone or something else. That thought had been hanging around the fringes of his mind all the while he'd been searching for Kuwabara. "Why? Did you need it for something?" Kuwabara asked.

"I wasn't done working with it, it was something left over from the Fruit of Past Life," Kurama explained. Yusuke looked curiously over at Kuwabara before asking, "What'd you take something like that for?"

And so, Kuwabara explained everything: His half formed plan, the seed, how he had ground it up and added it to Hiei's treat, and the disappointment he'd felt when Hiei had shown absolutely no reaction to his prank. When he was done, more then one of his friends were looking at him as if he'd been the victim of some horrific accident that addled his brain.

"You took something from Kurama's house and just stuck it in Hiei's food?! What if that thing is poisonous, or gives him some horrible rash or something?!" Botan yelled. Kuwabara wanted to tell her that that had been the basic idea of adding the seed to Hiei's food when Yusuke spoke up.

"The Fruit of Past Life? Did you get a potion thing from that to turn you into Youko Kurama?" Yusuke asked Kurama, attempting to curb Botan's fury and understand what exactly was going on.

Kurama, who looked close to rearranging Kuwabara's head so he could see upside down and backward, nodded and sat down. "Yes, it has properties related to age reversal. Once someone has taken a sip of it, they have around fifteen minutes before the age reversal begins. The potion itself is gone, but I still had the seed that was in it with me. I'd been hoping to test it to find out what properties the seed had safely, but now..." He eyed Kuwabara in a way that gave Kuwabara no doubt in his mind Kurama had once been a cut throat thief of Makai.

"But then, if a potion made from the fruit reverses age won't the seed just do the same?" Yukina asked, looking over at Kurama.

"Yukina! You're so smart- ugh!" Yusuke didn't even have to try to hide his punch from Kuwabara, he was too busy getting all kooky over Yukina.

"Focus moron, this is your fault after all," Yusuke said. Kuramam looked over at Yukina and nodded, "It should reverse his aging, but to what extent I'm not sure. It could turn him into a ten year old, or a toddler, or an infant, or it could turn him into a fetus. I'm not sure what it may do to him, which was why I was going to test it." Kurama stood up and checked his watch. It had been less than ten minutes since Hiei left, but how long ago had he eaten his snack? Whatever that seed was going to do to him may have already happened.

Botan hopped up off the couch and headed for the door, her oar appearing in her hand as she went. "Botan, where are you going?" Yusuke asked.

"Duh, I'm going to look for Hiei, I can cover a lot of ground on this thing you know, and with the compass watch I can track him anywhere," Botan answered, sitting down on the oar and floating off the ground. "You guys start searching down here, I think it's suppose to rain soon so we may want to find him as quickly as possible."

With that agreed on they split into groups: Kurama and Botan, Kuwabara and Yusuke, and Yukina and Keiko. As they headed out Kuwabara finally began wondering just how much damage his prank had done.

Hiei knew he was in trouble when the first drop of rain fell down and hit his nose. He had gone to the park after leaving Genkai's, and had then begun feeling funny. It had been like his arms and legs didn't belong to his body anymore, and as if his head had grown too big for his neck to hold up. He had sat down under a tree to wait for it to pass, but it had just grown worse. Now he was lying beneath the tree in a body so small it couldn't even pull his bandana out of his eyes.

The rain wasn't helping much either. Slowly, the rain was soaking his clothes and freezing him half to death. Maybe in an hour or so it would be all the way to death. He tried again to get up,and suceeded in rolling over onto his stomach. Now his face was resting in his wet clothes and rain was pelting his back.

'I swear, when I find out who did this to me they are going to die,' He thought, struggling to roll back onto his back. His fingers and toes were beginning to feel numb, and no matter how much he tried he couldn't find enough energy to warm himself up. Within ten minutes he was soaked and shivering. Even with his limited vision he could see small tendrils or breath escaping into the sky. With no way to escape and no way to help himself, it was beginning to seem very probable that he would die. During this time he drifted off to sleep, and when he awoke he was aware that someone was carrying him.

'Am I really this small?' He thought, with some frustration. He opened his eyes and looked around, but all he could see was a stormy sky and small flashes of red. A soft voice, maybe a child's, sang as he was carried.

"Mori no fukuro ga Iimashita Watashi wa mori no Mihari Yaku..."

Hiei tried to speak and a soft sound, like an infant's fussing, escaped. Whoever was carrying held him up close to their chest and patted his back. 'I am NOT something to be patted and cuddled,' Hiei tried to growl, but all that came out was an irritable cry. Whoever it was kept singing and walking, seemingly in circles. Hiei finally stopped struggling and tried to focus. How had this happened?... 


	3. The Baby

"Does the compass say anything?" Kurama called to Botan, gazing up into the stormy skies as she found her way back down. Landing with as much grace as possible, Botan reached up and began pulling at her wind blown, wet, and utterly mangled hair. 

"What terrible weather for flying, I mean really! Oh," she looked at Kurama a moment and then held out the watch for him to see. "It's not picking up anything. I don't know if his spirit energy has dropped too low for it to pick up, or if maybe..." She looked down, unable to finish that sentence. She didn't believe he could have died that easily, after all, when you see someone Hiei's size start summoning black dragons you didn't believe much of anything was going to kill him.

Kurama nodded and looked out over the landscape. Tall buildings, trees, overpasses, he could see litterally hundreds of places that Hiei could be hiding. He sighed and hopped down from his vantage point.

"I'm going to keep searching over there," He said, pointing off into the rainy distance.

Botan nodded, "Right-o, I guess I'll keep searching from above." Taking her oar back out, Botan hopped back on and took off into the rainy skies. Kurama sighed audibly and continued his search, calling out his friends name and hoping he was still able to respond.

* * *

"Hiei! Hey, you'd better not just be ignoring us!" Yusuke yelled into the sky. Kuwabara huffed and puffed after him, still trying to grasp the possibilities of what he had done.

Aw man, I didn't want to kill him or anything, just mess with him a little, Kuwabara thought. He didn't think he was dead, but it was still a major possibility. After all, if the seed didn't kill him the rain might.

"Hey Midget! Where'd you go?!" Kuwabara yelled, hearing the last few syllables of his words yell themselves back at him. Yusuke sighed and looked around.

"Darnit, either he's ignoring us or he's in really bad shape. Hey Kuwabara, you feelin' anything?" Yusuke asked, looking over at his friend. Kuwabara shut his eyes tightly and concentrated. Nothing. With a small growl of frustration Kuwabara screwed up his face in concentration and searched again.

This time he felt something, but it was such a weak energy he nearly over looked it. It was moving steadily away from them, heading towards... Nowhere. Was he just wandering around somewhere.

"He's over there!" Kuwabara said, pointing towards the direction of the park.

"You sure? I mean, the girls are probably there right now anyways, wouldn't they have said something if he was there?" Yusuke said, making Kuwabara recheck what he had sensed.

"I'm sure, he's definetly over there," Kuwabara answered, running in that direction. This was all his fault. If Hiei was dying, or a child or something he'd take full responsibility for it.

"Hey! Wait up!" Yusuke yelled, running as quickly as he could to stay on his friends heels.

* * *

"Keiko, look at this," Yukina said, kneeling beside Hiei's favorite tree. Yukina was holding what looked like a full set of clothes, minus Hiei's usual cloak, and a sword. Just looking at the items made their stomachs clench.

"But where is his cloak?" Keiko said, taking the sword from Yukina and looking around the base of the tree. There was nothing else there to suggest that someone else had been there, but beyond the improbable idea that Hiei had simply decided to get up, strip, and then leave everything behind, sword and clothes included, she had no clue how he might have left.

"Keiko?" Yukina said, looking towards the front of the park. "I think we should search closer to the entrance. It doesn't look like he's here anymore."

"Right," Keiko said, handling the sword carefully with both hands. "Let's go then."

* * *

_'What are you doing now?'_ Hiei thought desperately, fighting against the cloak that had been wrapped securely around him. The flashes of red now loomed above him, a large sky spotted circle.

"Shhh shhh... Kowai okami, kitsune nado kosasenai kara ne ne shina..." Whoever it was that had been carrying him continued singing in their light, gentle voice. It might have been soothing if he were any other infant but he was Hiei, a master thief and swordsman. At least he had been until someone turned him into **_Hiei the diaper filling demon_**!

He fumed over this frustrating fact while his captor settled him on a bench, gently settling the red circle over him so the rain did not soak him more thoroughly then it already had. The voice continued to sing in soft, calming tones.

"Gorosuke ho ho, gorosuke ho..." He felt and slender hand reach into the bundle he was wrapped in and rest of his chest. The fingers were small and strong. "I'm sorry."

With the apology uttered, his captor raked their nails sharply down the middle of his chest. What would have been a choice, vulgar word came out a scream of pain. Tears welled at the edges of Hiei's eyes and he was unable to stop them. He wailed, and as he wailed the long, endless screams of an infant.

The screams were so loud that they pierced the rainy sky, and remained unmuffled even by the jacket his captor had placed on top of the umbrella to help keep him dry.

* * *

By the time Kurama and Botan had gotten to the park, they could hear something screaming bloody murder at the top of its lungs. Kuwabara and Yusuke could hear it as well, but Keiko and Yukina were the ones to first find the source of the cries.

Hiei laid wrapped in his cloak, an pale infant with dark messy hair, dull red eyes, and a white line that stretched from one side of his forehead to the other. He wailed, a surprisingly high pitched shriek of pain and indignation. Three angry red lines stretched from his sternum to his belly button. A red umbrella with many holes in it was settled over him, and hanging from the edge of it was a jacket that had been placed to provide further protection.

"Hiei?" Yukina set the clothing down and picking up the bundle to get a closer look. Tiny tears hardened and fell from his face as he fought for control. Even this close he could only make out the blue, red, and aqua that made up his sister's being.

_'This is just pathetic,'_ Hiei thought, struggling to force his infant body to control him. All he managed to do was reduce the wailing to hiccoughs, but it was a start.

"Yukina!" Yukina looked up and saw Kuwabara, running towards them with a slightly stary eyed expression. Behind him Yusuke, Kurama, and Botan were bring up the rear. She and Keiko waved with identical smiles.

"Huh? What's that?" Kuwabara said, slowing down slightly as he drew closer. Yukina looked down into the bundle, running he fingers across the now smooth skin on Hiei's forehead. Below it she could feel the traces of energy associated with his jagan, but it was much weaker now. Almost dormant.

"I think this might be Hiei," she answered, exposing the small face of the infant to everyone. All of the reactions were the same: stunned disbelief with mingling curiousity and amusement. Kuwabara was the first one to do anything other then stare. He grabbed up the little bundle and held Hiei in a grip that nearly made his infant body start wailing again.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I promise I'll never stick strange plants stuff in your food again," He declared, with the infant clutched close to his chest. "Don't worry Hiei! I'll take good care of you until you're big again!"

_'YOU DID AND PROMISE WHAT?!'_


	4. The Problem

Behold, I am incredibly cruel and unusual to Hiei. I admit it, I am. Even I think I'm mean.

* * *

Small stars and planets slowly rotated in the air, suspended by plastic and strings. As they rotated, a song played. Small hands reached for them, tried to grab them. A star dangled several inches out of reach. The song slowed, the rotation stopped, and Hiei was an unhappy baby.

It wasn't that he **liked** the mobile, it was just that given the choice between counting cracks he couldn't see in the ceiling and watching the mobile, he'd rather watch the mobile. At least that's what he told himself.

Hiei took a deep breath and screamed. He still couldn't talk in this body, because somewhere between his brain and his mouth the words became babbles and wails, but screaming seemed to work just as well. He could feel the crib he'd been placed in vibrating slightly with someone's footfalls. He quieted and waited to see who it would be this time.

_'Just my luck,'_ Hiei thought seeing blue and red. Kuwabara. It looked like he was serious about taking good care of him until he was big. _'Tuh-riffic.'_

"Hey Hiei, how ya doin'?" Kuwabara cooed at him. Hiei felt a strong urge to toss himself out a window. Anything would be better then this. Hiei began fussing as Kuwabara picked him up out of the crib.

_'No! No! Turn the mobile on and then go away!'_ Hiei tried yelling, but instead he just fussed louder. He really hated this body.

Kuwabara just settled Hiei close to his shoulder and then began to walk out of the room to where he hoped the kitchen was. Genkai's place was still hard for him to figure out, even after walking through the place everyday for the past week. He just couldn't remember anything.

_'Put me down NOW!'_ Hiei's fussing turned into new screams, his small face red with anger. Kuwabara started walking faster.

"Don't worry! I'll feed you as soon as I can figure out where the kitchen is!" He said, opening doors and looking inside as he went.

_'Why do you always think a bottle will solve everything?!'_

"Kazuma?" Yukina stepped out of a room, watching Kuwabara and Hiei curiously. Hiei pushed himself up slightly and then hit his head once on Kuwabara shoulder. It was not an accident really, he had been trying to knock himself out before Kuwabara could start up about Yukina.

"Yukina my love!"

_'Here we go.'_

"What are you looking for Kazuma? Does Hiei need a bottle?" She asked, walking over and taking the red faced baby from Kuwabara's arms. Hiei squirmed a little and then settled down. He would much rather be held by his sister then by the big idiot.

"Yeah, he started crying in his crib so I thought he might be hungry," Kuwabara answered, looking into Hiei's small face. Hiei tried to glare back, but he found glaring wasn't that effective as an infant. In fact, he was beginning to think it may just give him a constipated look.

"Oh, well, the kitchen is this way," Yukina said, leading Kuwabara to another room. Hiei sighed heavily and craned his head to look at his feet. The sleeper he'd been put in was a one piece with footies, and lately staring at his feet had become extremely entertaining. That and trying to chew on them, but he couldn't get his feet that close to his mouth yet.

"There are some bottle in the fridge, just heat them up and they should be okay," Yukina said, sitting down in a chair with Hiei still in her arms. Hiei looked up and saw Yukina's hair dangling just inches away from him. After a few seconds of transfixed staring, he forced himself to look at his feet again. He hadn't actually pulled anyone's hair yet (Well, Kuwabara's, but he didn't count) but he didn't think it would be long until he did.

He watched Kuwabara grab a bottle from the fridge, his favorite one he could see since it was the only one that wasn't clear, and place it in the microwave. Hiei refocused on his feet, kicking one foot and then the other. As he did so he felt an odd sort of emptiness in his mind. For a few seconds he lost the sense of who he was. Then Kuwabara took the bottle out of the microwave and yelped.

"Hot! Hot! Hot!" He yelled dropping the bottle and shaking his hands. Hiei started and looked over at Kuwabara. He was still shaking his hands and yelling 'Hot.' Hiei turned his head away and looked at him feet. What had he been doing? He couldn't quite remember. He remembered looking at his feet and then...

"Hey Kuwabara, what are you doing?" Yukina looked up and smiled.

"Hello Yusuke, what are you doing here?" She asked, standing up to retrieve the bottle Kuwabara had dropped. Hiei felt a strong sense of vertigo and she bent over with him in her arms, and he grabbed onto her shirt as tightly as he could until she stood back up.

"I figured the big dummy would be here, so I decided to stop by. How's Hiei doing?" Yusuke asked, checking through the fridge for something to eat. Kuwabara glared at Yusuke for a second while he ran his hands under water.

"Well, I think he should be able to start walking soon and just yesterday he called Genkai Ma Ma," She answered, stroking Hiei hair as she spoke. Hiei felt his eyes drawing themselves shut and instantly arched his back to wake up.

_'I called Genkai Ma Ma? When'd that happen?'_ He thought, waving his arms around to ward Yukina's hands away from his head. He didn't remember it at all, but at the same time he knew it was perfectly possible. After all, hadn't he lost a few moments of time just a while ago? And a few days before that hadn't he lost several hours? He was beginning to get the feeling that he was slowly beginning to fade away. He didn't like the feeling.

"Genkai? A Ma Ma?" Yusuke wheezed through rib breaking laughter. "Maybe a Grandma, but Ma Ma?" Hiei felt himself going red while Kuwabara and Yusuke cracked up over this bit of news. Yukina tested the bottle on her wrist, and then gently brushed it against Hiei's mouth. He opened his mouth without thinking and began to drink, eyes now focused on Yukina's face.

_'What if I forget about my sister?'_ He wondered, staring at the eyes that were the same shade and color as his. It was a frightening thought, even more frightening then the idea of losing his sense of self. After a few second he spit out the bottle and refused to take it again. Yukina lifted him up to her shoulder and patted his back gently, humming softly. Hiei settled there, feeling no need to burp. Instead he focused on the problem at hand. How was he going to make sure he remembered her?

"Are you all in here?" Hiei looked over and saw the door opening. It sounded like Kurama, and the colors and shadows seemed to confirm it.

"Yeah, come on in Kurama," Yusuke said, sitting down with a can of soda he'd found. Kurama headed in and sat down with the rest of them. Hiei noted that his usual spot was still empty, unclaimed. He wished he could sit down like a normal person, instead of being fed and burped like he had been for the past few days. This was getting old fast.

"Hello Hiei, how are you?" Hiei jerked his head around and looked at Kurama who was smiling at him.

_'Not you too,'_ Hiei thought quietly, giving Kurama what he hoped was a very stern look. Kurama smiled, looking somewhat reassured.

"How big is he now?" Kurama asked Yukina as she resettled Hiei in her arms. Yukina turned her head towards Kurama and Hiei's eyes were again transfixed by the strands of hair that hung just inches above him. If he just reached up a few inches he could grab hold of that hair...

"He's grown several more inches since last time we checked, but he's been waking up more and more at night. He's also been extremely hungry lately," she answered, absently stroking Hiei's hair. "He still seems very aware of what's around him, but lately he seems to be... well, he seems much more child-like lately."

"I see," Kurama said, looking at Hiei's face. He did look more child-like, the glare he'd gotten out of him a second ago was gone and replaced by a look of delight as he watched Yukina's hair dangle in front of him. Wait.

"Yukina, you might want to-" Kurama's warning was cut of my Yukina small cry of pain. Hiei's little fist was wrapped around a thick strand of Yukina's hair, his eyes sparkling with delight. Yukina pried Hiei's hand off of her hair.

"No, no, Hiei, that's a bad thing to do," She said waving one finger in front of his face. Hiei's eyes followed it with anticipation, as though expecting something nice to happen.

_'It's as though there are times when he's himself and then times when he's just a normal child,'_ Kurama thought, watching Hiei wave his arms around as he tried to catch the finger. _'But those times when he's Hiei keep getting shorter and shorter, and the times when he's just a child are getting longer and longer. It's only been five days since he ingested that seed, so could this just be a temporary thing or will it be permanent?'_

He didn't know, and as far as he knew no one in Spirit World did either. Botan was still searching high and low for a solution to this problem, but she was doubtful that she'd find anything.

_"I'm sorry Kurama, but as far as we know no one has ever eaten a seed from the Fruit of Past Life. No ones been desperate or stupid enough to try it,"_ Botan had explained on her last visit.

_"I'll go back to Spirit World to recheck, but I really don't think I'll find anything."_

Kurama sighed and watched Hiei try to chew on Yukina's fingers, something Yukina was trying to convince him was a bad idea. He hated to admit it, but Hiei looked a lot happier as a child. As he watched brother and sister play, he tried to ward off the disappointment that this change may be very temporary. It was possible that by the end of the year he may be regrown.

Kurama suspected this may be a very good thing for Hiei, in it's own way.


	5. The Changes

**Note: People wanted Hiei learning to walk so behold! Hiei learning to walk! P.S. Does anyone want anything in paticular to happen? Just looking for ideas. No guarentee's anything will be used, but ya know.**

That same week, Kuwabara decided to try to reteach Hiei to walk. After all, he had said he'd take care of the little demon until he grew back up, and teaching him to walk was a part of that, right? There was only one problem.

Hiei had learned a new word, and was using it to adamantly declare his thoughts on being taught to walk.

"No! No! No!" He cried, as Kuwabara held him above the ground so he could 'stand.'

"Come on Hiei, it's not that hard, look!" Kuwabara set Hiei, now a toddler, down and walked to the other side of the room. "See? It's not that- Get back here!" Hiei, using Kuwabara's demonstration to his advantage, was already crawling as fast as he could out of the room.

His escape was foiled by Botan, who picked up the fleeing child as she opened the door.

"Just where do you think you're going young man?" She asked him in a tone of mock anger, gently folding him into her arms.

_'I was going to get out of here and away from this fool, but you stopped me,'_ Hiei thought, giving her a stern look. Hiei knew by now that he was slowly slipping away and that, combined with the constant fear of losing memories of his sister, made him much more then a handful. He was fussy, ill tempered, and difficult for anyone to calm down. This lesson in walking wasn't doing much to help his attitude.

"Now come on, you need to know how to walk," Botan said, kneeling down to set Hiei on the floor. Hiei, uncompromising as ever, raised his feet up so they did not touch the ground. Botan, perplexed, lifted him into the air and watched him lower his feet. Then she began to set him back down again.

"No!" Hiei raised his feet again until he was nearly in a sitting position. Botan narrowed her eyes.

"Little bugger!" She said, finally setting him down on his bottom. Kuwabara sighed.

"I've been trying to teach him all morning, but he just doesn't seem to want to learn," kuwabara said, rubbing small bite marks on his fingers and hands. To say that Hiei was refusing to learn to learn to walk was an understatement. He was hellbent against it. Hiei crawled away from the two as they began to talk about how best to approach teaching him to walk. He scampered into his play area and settled down.

Since the group of teens couldn't really go ahead and buy Hiei new toys (Diapers and formula cost enough as it was) they had given him their olds toys. A large, well worn teddy bear from Keiko, a truck from Yusuke, a large coloring book and crayons from Kurama, and a hammering station from Kuwabara. Hiei seized the small hammer and pegs and set a peg into a hole. Then he raised the hammer and pounded it in.

It made a lot of noise, but it kept him happy and kept him from using the hammer on someone else. As he set up another peg he began to feel the fugue settle over him again. Halfway through raising the hammer he was gone. Only the child remained.

The child continued to happily pound pegs into place, every once in a while pausing to babble something to the bear. Botan grinned.

"Oh, he's so cute when he gets like that. It almost makes you forget that he was a cold hearted, blood thirsty killer once," she mused, watching the child happily pound the living daylight out of the peg holder.

"Uh, yeah, almost," Kuwabara said, nursing his wounded hand. "So have you found anything yet?"

Botan sighed heavily. "Zilch, I spent nearly this whole week searching through books and notes and files and still nothing. I think we may have to wait this one out and hope he returns to normal soon."

Kuwabara looked over at the child, who had by now abandoned the hammer and pegs in favor of the bear. He chewed contentedly on the ear, watching Kuwabara and Botan with a deep fascination. He didn't even look remotely dangerous anymore, unless you were trying to make him do something he didn't want to do of course. Hiei suddenly stopped chewing on the bear long enough to give them a cheerful smile, something he was doing more and more often lately.

"Do you think this is such a bad thing?" kuwabara asked, watching Hiei begin to play with the truck now, his attention shifting with every moment.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Botan asked, looking away from Hiei's play to focus on Kuwabara. He looked oddly serious as he watched the small fire demon play.

"Well, I don't know. It's just that before he never really seemed all that happy, and now look at him," Kuwabara said, motioning to the happy toddler who was now pulling pages from the coloring book. "I don't know how demon children act as they grow up, but I know that he's happy right now."

Botan looked at Hiei and could find no response. Yes, he was happier right now, but what about before when he had been strongly refusing to be taught to walk? What about in the middle of the night when he screamed until someone came in to pick him up? He was happy now, but what about later? What about when his demon powers awoke?

"Hey guys!" Yusuke said, yanking open the door and startling Botan from her thoughts. Hiei looked up too, and the instant he recognized Yusuke he crawled over and raised his arms. The child inside him recognized Yusuke as a playmate, not the coloring or reading kind really, but the rough and tumble kind. Yusuke set a bag down and ruffled Hiei's already messy hair.

"Hey squirt! How are ya?" Yusuke asked, checking for reactions. Just happy gurgling, Hiei was no where in sight. Picking the bag back up, he settled into a seat and began removing the contents of the bag. Hiei, inquisitive as ever, crawled over to a spot he could see everything from, planted himself, and watched what Yusuke was doing.

Colorful plastic bowls emerged, as did spoons and a medium sized, rectangle box. Hiei began feeling excited without knowing why, and swayed slightly from side to side in anticipation. Before the box could be opened, the door slid open and Kurama and Keiko entered. The air outside found its way inside and the room felt hot. While the adults grumbled and complained Hiei continued his rocking and watching.

Kurama sat down beside the tiny tyke and watched him, noting how his face reamined unflushed and his skin dry. _'He may not have any energy left, but his body still reacts like a fire demon's body should. Extreme heat like this doesn't bother him, and I expect extreme cold won't either,'_ Kurama thought, eyeing the child with worry. He didn't know exactly how long Hiei was going to remain this docile, but he expected it would be as long as his body continued feeding off his energy to grow.

With a lowered energy level, Hiei was a relativley calm and relaxed toddler. When it raised again he suspected he would be quite a different child. His thoughts were interupted when someone handed him a bowl of ice cream, vanilla.

"Eat up Kurama, it's a hot day out today!" Botan said, sticking her spoon in her mouth with a catlike expression of joy. Kurama smiled and began to eat too, hoping to put any thoughts of Hiei's possible change to rest.

Hiei peered up at him curiously, eyes alight with a child like delight. He reached for Kurama's bowl, and Kurama pulled it away from him. Seeing the look of utter rejection of Hiei's small face, Kurama took another spoon and fed the child a small taste.

The taste was what brought Hiei back out, it's familiarity calling him back. A smiled and reached for the spoon, but Kurama kept it out of reach until he had loaded it back up. For once, he didn't mind being treated like a child. He ate happily, and felt more then a little melancholy when the sweet, cold treat was gone. Hiei pulled insistently at Kurama's sleeve, only to have his hair lightly ruffled.

"No more Hiei, you don't want to get a stomach ache," Kurama said, standing up to put his things away. Hiei sat there fuming.

_'I'll decide what I do and do not want,'_ Hiei thought, looking at the box which had been left out on the small table. He looked around at the others as he planned.

"Hey Kurama, have you found anything out about that seed?" Botan asked, voice hopeful. Kurama just shook his head and Botan looked crestfallen. Kurama sat down in a chair.

Hiei carefully considered each person's placement and decided he could get to the box without anyone noticing if he was fast enough. The problem was that, while he could crawl quickly, he didn't think he could pull himself up fast enough to keep from being spotted. He looked at his legs, still slightly chubby from baby fat, and made his decision.

While everyone talked, Hiei forced himself up on wobbly legs and stood, swaying dangerously from side to side. Once he was sure he wasn't going to fall down, Hiei took a tentative step forward. When he didn't fall down, he took another, and then another. Soon he was hurrying towards the table, ever watchful of the others around him.

"So you mean he could be stuck like this until he grows up naturally?" Yusuke said, looking at Kurama and Botan. Botan shook her head.

"No, nothing like that. We know, by watching Hiei grow, that the seed caused an immediate age reversal. Since we're not sure how old Hiei is, we can't say how many years he lost, but he does seem to be growing at an accelerated rate," she sighed and slouched slightly, with a defeated look on her face. "We don't even know if that will continue though... bugger."

Hiei only half listened as he walked. His hands grasped the tables edge and saw the box. He reached for it.

"Well, at least we know he **will** grow," Kuwabara said, looking for Hiei. His gaze stopped on the table and he stared, dumbfounded. Hiei had pulled the box of ice cream over to himself, lifted the lid, and was now chewing on a cold, sticky handful of the stuff. Hiei looked at Kuwabara, an perfect image of innocence again, and raised the sticky hand to him as if offering him some ice cream.

"Hiei? How'd you get there?" He asked, holding out his arms and waiting for the small child to crawl over. Hiei grinned at Kuwabara and let go of the table. Slowly he bumbled his way over to Kuwabara, arms out stretched with a bright look on his face.

"When did he learn that?" Kurama said, watching Hiei's slow progress towards Kuwabara. A foot from Kuwabara Hiei tumbled forward, and fell into his arms. Kuwabara grinned at the tiny child, and Hiei mirrored the look.

"I taught him," Kuwabara said proudly. "I taught him to walk."

5 Months Later

"'Kina? Why do I got to go to the park?" Hiei said, staring at the velcro sneakers on his feet. About the size of a three year old now, Hiei's limbs were thin and his body was slender. His hair had been cut shorter to his head so his hair's unusual perky appearance was diminished, and his eyes still held their dull red color. He was wearing a small, school outfit that had once been Yusuke's. The knees on the pants were well worn.

"Because Hiei, you can't spend all of your time here. You have to go and meet other people," Yukina answered, brushing her hair as she spoke. Hiei leaned against the wall and stared at his feet again.

Hiei felt something stir in a dark corner in his mind, like something stirring from a sleep, and then it was gone. Hiei ignored it. A few weeks ago the pull had been much stronger, but as time went on it had weakened. He was slightly relieved that it was going away, but he also mourned its passing. It was like losing a piece of himself.

Outside a small bird chirped. Hiei looked up and headed to the window, looking around attentivley. Spying the small bird he smiled and watched it, micmicking it's movements and trying to chirp like it did. He frowned when it flew away.

"Come on Hiei," Yukina said, grabbing a small coat for the boy and heading to the door. Hiei followed, but his movements were slow. He obviously didn't want to go, but was entertaining Yukina's excitement about going.

"Do I have to play with the others?" Hiei asked as they headed out the door, pulling on the jacket Yukina had given him. Yukina looked over at him.

"I suppose you can play by yourself today, but it would be nice for you to try to play with some other kids. Are you worried about playing with the other children?" She asked, looking at him with some concern. Hiei was an odd child. Besides the one time they had found him in the park, Hiei didn't cry, and despite his young age Hiei seemed to have a firm grasp on life and death.

She could still remember the first time Hiei had seen something dead, less than two weeks ago...

_Bent over the still body of the bird, Hiei stared with wide unblinking eyes. Yukina hurried over to him, and saw with dismay that the bird was dead. Yukina kneeled down beside the bird and the boy, trying to figure out what the boy was thinking. He looked at Yukina and smiled a greeting._

_"Hi 'Kina," He said, returning his gaze to the dead bird. Yukina reached over and placed her hand on the boy's back. He moved uncomfortably but didn't make her let go like he usually did. It was a good sign._

_"Hiei, come on, you can't help him anymore, he's-"_

_"Birdy died, 'Kina," Hiei said, a blunt statement. "He got old and died, didn't he?"_

_Yukina felt shocked. It wasn't what he said that shocked her, it was how he said it. He still sounded cheerful, even happy. Deciding he didn't know what he was saying, Yukina tried to explain what had happened to Hiei._

_"Hiei, the bird isn't going to wake up. Dead means-"_

_"Birdy is dead," Hiei repeated, in a slightly more solemn voice. "Birdy won't sing anymore."_

_"No he won't," Yukina agreed, feeling slightly nervous. "Hiei, do you know what death is?"_

_Hiei had stood up, brushing his little hands off, and looked at her quite seriously. "Yes, death is when the monsters get you."_

The incident told her that even though the Hiei she knew was no longer consciously in control of the small body, his thoughts and emotions still remained. She suspected that was why he didn't like being held, or cuddled like normal children did.

Maybe that was why he was so concerned about playing with other children. Maybe it was just what remained of Hiei showing through.

They walked silently, side by side, Hiei's thin cool hand inside of Yukina's. Hiei walked close to the road, something he always insisted on doing when they went out. The first time it had happened Yukina had called Hiei her 'Little Guardian,' and Hiei had turned an odd shade of scarlet before looking away. It was as though the name she had given him had awakened some strange memory in him he didn't want to share.

She let him keep it to himself.

"Is this the park 'Kina?" Hiei said suddenly, pulling slightly on her hand as he began to hurry forward. Yukina smiled and led the child into the park, enjoying the expression of delight in his eyes. She continued to lead him to where the childrens play area was, and Hiei became decidely less enthusiastic.

Children swarmed over the area, climbing up rope ladders, sliding down slides, and pushing themselves as high as they could go on swings. They reminded Hiei of ants, crawling all over ant hills. He suddenly headed behind Yukina, peeking around her legs to look at the other children.

"Go play Hiei, no one will bite," Yukina said encouragingly, stepping to the side so Hiei couldn't hide behind her. He took a few steps forward and looked around, as if expecting a small child to come up and knock him over out of some unknown spite. When no such child appeared, he ventured forward into the play area.

Yukina smiled and found a place to sit down and observe him. He climbed, and jumped and crawled into place like the other children, but he did not interact with them. As soon as another child approached him, he moved away and found another spot to play. She frowned. He didn't even give other children a chance to be friendly, he just got up and walked away as soon as they approached. She sighed, and hoped he'd settle down and play soon.

Hiei didn't think there was much chance of that. These children all gave him funny looks, as if they were wondering what he was doing there. They looked at him like he didn't belong, and he was sure they were coming over to tell him to leave.

Hiei looked over at the rope ladder, curiosity rising. It looked like it went up high. Really high. He slowly began to edge towards it, waiting for children to lose interest so he could give it a try. The instant the children abandoned it, Hiei ran for it.

The ropes were thick and hard. When he grabbed them they hurt his hands. Oddly, the pain was somewhat pleasant. Hiei pulled himself upward, hoisting his small frame up onto the ropes and scrambling to grab the next rope. The climbing felt nice and familiar to his limbs and arms, despite the fact that this was the first time he'd ever climbed anything other then countertops and tables.

Hiei made his way to the top in no time, and was about to hoist himself onto the wooden playform when a child appeared, startling him. Losing his grip, his body fell backwards, pulled downwards by the irresitatble force of gravity. The falling felt familiar, frighteningly so.

For a few moments the park was gone and replaced by sky and wrappings. He could feel someone's hands around him, through thick layers of wrappings and seals. They were speaking to him, and then the hands were gone and he was falling, falling, falling...

Hiei screamed and then felt two arms beneath him. His weight sent both he and Yukina to the ground, scraping arms and bruising knees. Hiei kept screaming, hanging onto Yukina as tightly as he could.

"Hiei? What's wrong? Hiei!" Yukina shook the child slightly, breaking the spell the fall had cast over him. He stared at her, eyes filled with fear and dread, chest heaving.

"I want to go home!" He said suddenly, ignoring the other children's stares and the parents whispering. "Please! I want to go home 'Kina!"

Yukina nodded, startled by Hiei's sudden fear. She carried him all the way home, unable to get him to release her from his tight, fearful grip.


	6. The Nightmares

**Note: There is a reason he's wetting the bed still! Signs of stress for children are bedwetting, thumb sucking, nail biting, stuttering and loss of appetite. Not all of these things may happen. I'm just sayin'**

**Also, remember that Hiei does not recall his former self. If you were a child faced with these violent memories, how would you react? ...Also, he's not going to go insane, he's just trying too. XD**

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After a year and a half of accelerated growth, Hiei turned seven and began to age somewhat normally. By this time the child had only traces of his former self that popped up at the oddest times. All in all though, he was a fairly normal child.

He liked playing games, he enjoyed rough housing, swinging at things with a stick was a must, and he loved spending time with his 'family.' Hiei's family consisted of Kurama, Kuwabara, Yusuke, Yukina, and Genkai. Keiko and Botan were his friends. He was home schooled, and no longer went to the park to play on in the play area. It scared him since the falling incident.

Hiei was scared of many other things too, but kept these things to himself. He sighed quietly and watched his blankets tumble around in the dryer. One of the things he was scared of was his bed wetting. When he was younger it was okay, but now he was scared that Genkai would be mad at him if he wet the bed.

He didn't do it every night, but it was often enough that he now slept on several towels to keep the bed dry. The dryer beeped loudly to signal the end of a cycle and Hiei ran to shut it off. He pulled the large sheets and blankets out of the dryer before turning and grabbing his pajamas to stick in there.

He reset the dial and started the dryer again, hoping no one would wake up while he carried out this shameful ritual. As he waited he tried to recall the dream that seemed to cause these night time episodes. The memories of it were hazy and quickly fading but he could remember red.

Red... what? Red fire, yes there was fire. Fire that was red, black, purple, and green flames that shifted and curled and ate up people. There was a coppery smell that should have made him sick to his stomach but was instead almost pleasant and the sickly sweet odor of burning skin, and hair, and bodies. He should have been repulsed but he was not. The memory of the dream was comforting and familiar. Then the dream always ended, but it ended because something had ended it. Something with eyes and bloody hands.

He wasn't sure why, but for some reason the dream made him feel bad about himself. As if he were tainted by some sin he couldn't remember he had committed. The feeling was scary, as if he were some kind of monster.

He shivered and pulled the freshly laundered blanket around himself. It smelled nice, warm, and faintly flowery from whatever was in the detergent he had used. Hiei snuggled into it and sighed. What remained of the dream faded and he was left with the rest of his laundry to do and nothing to think of. A faint tingle crept up his spine and he turned.

"What are you doing up so late?" Genkai snapped, wearing her bedclothes and holding a flashlight. Hiei bit his lip and looked away, back at the spinning clothes in the dryer. He didn't want to tell her that he was up because he had had a bad dream and wet the bed, but the situation seemed to scream it for him.

Genkai made a grunting sound and sat beside Hiei without saying anything about the pajamas in the dryer or the fact that Hiei was sitting wrapped up in a blanket wearing a fresh pair of underwear and nothing else. Hiei scooted closer to the old woman, not touching her, but getting close enough to feel her warmth. She put an arm around him and sighed audibly.

"How long has this been going on?" She asked in her usual rough voice. Hiei hunched his shoulder around himself as if doing so would protect him from the shame of what he'd done, and bit at his thumb. It was a strange habit he'd picked up since the nightmares began.

"I don't know... A few weeks maybe," He answered, chewing a bit harder. His face burned red with the confession, but he felt a little relieved too. He didn't have to hide it anymore anyways.

Genkai nodded and continued to watch the clothes dry. After a few moments she looked at Hiei quite seriously and he felt that punishment was near. Hiei looked down and swallowed a lump in his throat, ready for punishment.

"Hiei, is there something else your not telling us? You've been very nervous lately," she said, looking at him with a rigid sort of concern. Hiei let out a breath of relief and stared into the old woman's face.

Heavily lined with a sort of rough, leathery look to it and deep set eyes, he suspected she never had to worry about burglars. They probably took one look at her and ran. He would too if he were them. He knew Genkai was suppose to be a powerful psychic, and even though he had never seen her in an actual fight he thought Yusuke's fear of the woman was a good enough proof of her power.

These facts, and the nearly motherly concern in her voice and eyes, made it extremely difficult to lie to her, but lie Hiei did. He had long ago realized there was nothing she could do to help him, and he accepted that with good grace. You couldn't expect people to always have the answers after all, and if they didn't then what was the point of worrying them with questions?

"No Grandma, I told you all everything," Hiei said, building up a wall inside himself to keep the lie from showing on his face. The lie came as easily and naturally as breathing, and the ability to put on his poker face did too. They were like well learned and often used abilities he had never learned.

Genkai nodded, though she appeared unsatisfied with what he had said, and stood up. She took down a towel and held it out to Hiei. He looked at it for a few moments before what she was having him do sank in. Hiei grabbed the towel and headed for the bathroom, ready to take a hot bath and then have a nice long sleep.

As he filled the tub he felt the stirring in his mind again and tried to ignore it. Steam was already filling the air and he didn't want the little voice that sometimes spoke from his mind to bother him now. It didn't work, and as Hiei slipped into the burning water the voice spoke up.

_'We shouldn't be here. We shouldn't be dependent on these people. You can't count on friends to always be there. They'll always let you down,'_ it whispered to his mind. The words were not new, but they always struck a chord deep inside him. A part of him denied these words, and yet another part embraced them as the only truth. The feeling tore him apart inside.

"I want to be here, I belong here with 'Kina and Genkai and all my family and friends," Hiei whispered to the tiles. "I can stay here, I can count on them, I know I can. They haven't let me down yet."

_'They will.'_ Hiei head began to ache horribly, as if someone were trying to split it down the middle. He moaned and clutched at his head, feeling as if the skin on his forehead where being pulled apart from the inside. Tears welled up in his eyes and tiny tears fell down his face and dropped into the water, hardening into gems the instant they left his eyes.

As quickly as it appeared, the pain left and Hiei took advantage of the remission to wash and get out of the tub as quickly as he could. He grabbed his toothbrush and propped himself up on the bathroom counter, turning on the water to brush his teeth. He looked up at the steam covered mirror and stopped.

Someone was there in the mirror, in the place where his reflection should be. He reached forward and then stopped at the doppelganger matched his movements. Hiei swallowed and then reached forward and wiped a line of condensation off along where his eyes should be. What he saw shocked him.

They were his eyes, but they were so much colder, so much harder, and so absent of kindness or compassion. The eyes seemed to suck him in and soon he saw other things there too. Hate. Pain. Sadness. Fear. Each emotion he saw, he felt, and it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Go away," Hiei whispered to the specter, trying to will it to be gone and finding it impossible to do so. Despite how ridiculous the thought was he kept thinking it was impossible to ward himself away. Hiei jumped from the counter and headed to the wall away from the mirror. He set his head against the wall and felt it begin to pound again. He felt like the person in the mirror was going to come out any second and grab him. Reach out and grab him and hurt him like the thing in his dreams, like he hurt other people in his dreams...

"Go away!" Hiei shrieked, lashing out with some unknown part of himself. Whatever it was connected with the mirror and then laced up through the wall to the light. There was a bright shock of light and the mirror and light bulbs exploded. Hiei screamed and felt the pain in his head become sharper, more defined. It ached steadily, but the pain did lessen a bit.

When Genkai came in a few moments later to figure out what was happening she saw Hiei, wrapped in a towel and exhausted. The light scar on his forehead had opened and blood flowed sluggishly from it. He looked up at Genkai and she saw the glass that had cut his face and head.

"Hiei? What happened?" She demanded, going to his side and picking him up. Hiei didn't answer. She questioned him for a long time after that, trying to coerce him with bribes and menial threats of chores, but Hiei just didn't seem to care.

When he was left in his room an hour later he stared out the window, eyes full of fear.

_"Hiei, do you know what death is?"_ Yukina had asked nearly a year ago.

_"Yes, death is when the monsters get you,"_ he had answered, as if it were the simplest answer in the world. He shivered.

What if he was one of those monsters?


	7. The Seed Planted

**Note: Howdy y'all. I seem to have a large number of reviews on this story, whoo! Dunno why everyone likes it though... Anyway, anymore suggestions? -sets out a box to collect the in-**

* * *

"What flavor do you want Hiei?"

"Vanilla please."

Kuwabara bought one vanilla ice cream and a chocolate, and after paying for the frozen treats, he handed Hiei his cone. The little boy smiled faintly and began to lick the sides to keep it from dripping down and making his hands sticky. Kuwabara walked with Hiei to a small bench and sat down, licking his ice cream as fast as he could too.

"...Kuwabara?" Hiei said suddenly, staring at the vanilla ice cream in his hands. Kuwabara looked over at him, surprised he wasn't devouring it with his usual ravenous appetite.

"Yeah? What's wrong?" He asked, trying to read the little demon's face. It was lined with conflict and pain, both physical and emotional. He thought he saw something else there too, but he wasn't sure what it was. "Your head botherin' ya again?"

Hiei reached up and touched the large bandage on his forehead. Since that night he had admitted his bedwetting to Genkai his head would throb and ache at odd times. Eating ice cream, climbing trees, and even talking with Kurama caused his forehead to feel as though it were being split open with a dull knife.

"Yeah, but..." He licked his ice cream for a moment, staring at his feet while he did so. "Kuwabara, why do I have to go to school?"

"Is that what you're so worried about?" Kuwabara asked, "You know it's not as bad as Yusuke and I say it is... Just the homework. Kuwabara laughed to himself and then stopped. Hiei wasn't even smiling and the ice cream he had dripped steadily onto the ground.

"Hiei?" Kuwabara said, looking at the child. The little boy looked up and met Kuwabara's gaze for a moment before he began licking his ice cream again.

"Yeah, I'm sure it won't be that bad," he said, finishing his ice cream in record time. Crumpling the paper that had surrounded the cone into a ball, he tossed it into the trash can. Hiei smiled at Kuwabara. "I start tomorrow, right? I won't have to wear any of your dorky kid clothes will I?"

"Hey, shut up shorty!" Kuwabara said in mock anger. He was glad Hiei was acting a little more normal, but something bugged him. The sudden change in personality. He had been doing it more and more often, being melancholy one moment and bright and cheerful the next. He was hiding something, but what?

Hiei got up and began to walk, making Kuwabara scramble to finish his own ice cream and follow the boy. Hiei walked quicker, smiling slightly as he heard Kuwabara telling him to slow down. He finally ran to the corner, swift as the wind, grabbing the light pole to slow himself down. Hiei giggled as he observed Kuwabara, several blocks behind, waving his arms and calling for him to slow down.

_'Maybe I should run a few blocks ahead of him all the way home,'_ Hiei thought, turning to look across the street. _'Maybe I should-'_

The thought stopped abruptly as something across the street caught his eyes. Something red. He stood on his toes as stared across the street, eyes transfixed by the object.

Slowly, he put together, piece by piece, what it was. A red, worn umbrella with many holes. Hiei stared at it and felt his head flood with memories.

_Someone sang softly to a baby wrapped in a black cloak. They were walking, slowly, towards the entrance of the park and above them was a circle of red with small bits of the sky showing through_.

_"Mori no fukuro ga Iimashita Watashi wa mori no Mihari Yaku"  
A child sang sweetly into his ear. The child couldn't carry a tune in a pail, but they rocked lightly from side to side and the movements were soothing. The umbrella, the sky, the voice, the lullaby..._

"Hiei!" A hand grabbed his small shoulder and jerked him back just as a vehicle sped by, horn blaring angrily. Hiei gasped at the sudden shock of reality and looked up to see Kuwabara, sweaty and flushed, staring at him as though he were crazy.

"Kuwabara?" Hiei murmured, looking back out across the street. The umbrella was gone, and the memories began to fade away with it. He looked back at Kuwabara. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?!" Kuwabara sputtered, unable to believe what he was hearing. "What's wrong?! You almost became road kill squirt!"

"Oh yeah," Hiei said sheepishly, giving Kuwabara an apologetic look. "Well, you were here and pulled me back, so I didn't get hit."

"And what if I hadn't been here?! Then what?!" Kuwabara yelled. People were staring, but Kuwabara didn't care. When he'd seen Hiei start crossing the street with those cars coming... To say the least it had given him a good jolt.

"Then I would have been a stain on the pavement," Hiei said, sounding largely unconcerned. He rocked back and forth on his heels, humming quietly to himself. Kuwabara opened his mouth to snap at the child, but the melody sounded familiar.

"Hey, what are you humming?" He asked instead, watching Hiei rock back and forth. Hiei stopped, his recollection already blurry and what remained of it quickly fading.

"I dunno," he answered, looking up at the crossing light. The hand vanished and the image of a small person appeared. Hiei grinned and took off suddenly. "Come on Kuwabara! We'll be late for cartoons!"

"Hiei! Stop running before you get flattened!"

* * *

Hiei didn't stop running until he reached Kurama's house. He bolted up to the door and rang the door bell, standing on his toes to look through the windows. He grinned and waved to Kurama as he answered the door.

"Hello Hiei, where's Kuwabara?" He asked, looking around for his absent friend. Hiei walked in under Kurama's arm and began pulling off his shoes.

"He's a few blocks back, don't worry though. He'll be here soon," Hiei said, heading for the living room. Kurama followed his young friend and sat down beside him. He expected Hiei to turn on the TV to watch his favorite cartoons, but instead he sat there with a blank look on his face. He seemed to be remembering something.

"Hey, Kurama?" Hiei said, looking over at the kitsune with curious eyes.

"Yes?" Kurama watched his friend shift uncomfortably, as if having a deep internal fight with himself. Finally he looked him in the eyes.

"Um, well, I wanted to know if... anyone used to sing to me when I was little," Hiei confessed, shifting his eyes away from Kurama and taking a deep breath. "I keep remembering a song someone sang to me, but I can't remember who sang it."

Kurama looked at him with some amusement and gently ruffled his black hair, "Of course we did Hiei, otherwise you wouldn't go to sleep sometimes."

"Really?" Hiei said, obviously surprised. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, eyeing Kurama curiously. "What did you guys sing?"

Kurama laughed. "Well, mostly it was the girls who did that, but I think that we all sang things our mother's sang to us." Hiei looked at Kurama oddly.

"Mother? You mean the lady that takes care of you?" Hiei asked, looking over at a picture of Shiori and Kurama. In the picture Kurama couldn't have been more then ten, and he was smiling at the camera.

"My Mother is more then someone who takes care of me, Hiei. She's someone I can depend on and who loves me dearly," Kurama said, his eyes drifting to the picture as well. Hiei felt the Something stir inside of him. "She would give her life for me, Hiei, and she gave me life. I owe her everything for that."

"...I don't have a mother, do I Kurama?" Hiei suddenly said, gazing at the woman Kurama called Mother. "I don't have someone who would do any of those things for me, do I?"

Kurama looked at Hiei and saw the sadness in his eyes, and a deep anger that was almost frightening. Kurama was taken aback by the sudden change in him, but before he could try to rebuff Hiei's words the little demon looked at him and continued to speak.

"Kurama, what's wrong with me? I want to be normal, but then he keeps saying that I'm not and that I shouldn't be here!" Hiei cried, anger dissipating and giving way to fear. He grabbed the front of Kurama's shirt and held on with a strange sort of desperation. "Kurama, am I a monster? Is that why I keep having so many bad dreams? Am I?"

"Hiei," Kurama said, making Hiei let go of his shirt and grabbing a hold of his shoulders. "Hiei, who is telling you these things?" Kurama asked, feeling scared himself. Hiei put his hands up to his head and held on, pain splitting his skull.

"I don't know!" The little boy screamed. The windows began rattling and objects began to lift themselves off the floor. Kurama looked around as things began to lift themselves into the air. The glass on photos cracked and lights turned on and off. He looked at Hiei and saw the bandage on his forehead begin turning crimson.

"Hiei! Calm down!" Kurama said, trying to get the child to listen to him. Instead he felt his own body beginning to lose contact with the floor. "Hiei!"

Hiei sat with his knees pulled up, hands locked over his ears and eyes shut. Inside he could hear a voice talking.

_'She didn't care. I don't care what she said, or what she did, she didn't care.'_ Kurama was pulled completely up off the floor and even though he kept calling to Hiei to calm down the child couldn't hear him over the louder, more demanding inner voice.

_'She didn't even look for me, she let them drop me off that island and let me fall. I didn't belong there, and you don't belong here.'_ The front door opened and someone came in, yelling. They made it to the living room and stopped yelling.

_'They won't be able to take care of you. We don't belong here, and the longer we are here the worse it's going to get.'_ A voice was calling Hiei's name but it seemed so far away. Blood escaped the bandage and slipped into his eyes. It stung horribly. He began to make soft, whimpering sounds.

_'We've got to leave,'_ the voice whispered. _'We've got to get out of here, because if we stay there's a chance that someone else is going to get hurt...'_

"Hiei!" The voice finally penetrated the inner voice as two arms wrapped themselves securely around the child. Hiei blinked his eyes opened and everything that had been floating, Kurama included, dropped.

"Hiei, come on, it's okay," a frightened voice was saying. Hiei looked up and saw Kuwabara, face white, gripping Hiei in a nearly painful hold. "It's okay."

Hiei felt another hand on his shoulder and this time he turned to see Kurama, face cut and shaky, but still staring at Hiei with eyes full of concern and compassion. Their looks almost hurt. Hiei wiped blood away from his brow and looked away from them, scared that they might hate him later and ashamed he had let himself get so out of hand.

_'I don't have to leave. I belong here,'_ Hiei thought a while later as Kurama had him lie down for a nap. It had taken nearly an hour to clean up the glass from broken picture frames and to move everything back to it's original spot. _'They said it wasn't my fault and that they're not mad at me. I could stay here, they're not like her.'_

Even as he drifted off to sleep he heard the voice speak, faint and far away.

_'He never did answer your question.'_


	8. The Danger

**Note: I've been asked what the voice in Hiei's head is all about. At first I thought it could have been the adult in him talking, but the more I write the more it seems like it's all the parts that Hiei may have hated about himself. All his insecurities, all his angers, all his pains. When he became a child and subsequently lost his memory, those parts of himself were gone. Since we can't very well have an angst less Hiei, it apparently found its way into the story via the voice. That is all.**

"Kagome! Kagome! Kago no naka no Tori wa!

Itsu Itsu deyaru? Yoake no ban ni

Tsuru to Kame ga subetta!

Ushiro no shoumen dare ?"

Hiei watched the other children play quietly from his spot under a tree. He hated being there. The day hadn't even started, and he already hated it. He gazed up at the building before him. It felt like a prison already, and he hadn't even been inside yet.

Yusuke had been the one to walk him to school, probably because the others agreed that if Hiei got out of control again he could handle it. Hiei already knew that as they walked side by side to school.

_"Yusuke?" Hiei had asked, staring at the ground as he walked. Yusuke looked at the little boy who had, only yesterday, scared the living daylights out of his other two friends. From what he'd heard it was as if the boy had begun releasing spirit energy to protect himself, but from what?_

_"Yeah? What, you gettin' cold feet?" Yusuke asked, hoping the slight teasing would bring a spark from the child. He was disappointed to see it didn't. He didn't even crack a smile. He just kept staring at the ground as he walked._

_"Nothing..."_

Hiei had wanted to ask him if he thought he was a monster, but had gotten scared at the last moment. He was certain that Yusuke wouldn't call him a monster, but there was still that fear that he would. Maybe he wouldn't mean to say it, but an accident could reveal his deepest thoughts, right?

Hiei sighed audibly and pulled his knees to his chest. Kids were already beginning to make jokes about the bandage on his head. He knew, he could here them talking about it all the way across the playground. He rubbed the bandage with the back of his hand and felt the dent in his skin beneath it. He frowned and the dent flinched slightly before becoming a single raised line beneath the bandage.

_'Monster.'_

"Hey!" Hiei looked up and saw a school teacher standing over him. She held out her hand to him. "Well come on, school has started."

Hiei took her hand and allowed her to help him stand. She had a kindly face and warm eyes. "Are you my teacher?" Hiei asked, bringing his hand to his mouth to bite his nails.

"Yes I am, I'm Miss-" Hiei met the woman's gaze and she stopped talking instantly. He slipped a part of his mind into her mind through the scar in his forehead and began planting memories and commands. By the time he was done she was walking cheerfully back to school holding the hand of an invisible boy.

She would send the 'boy' to class once they were inside and forget about him until the end of the day when she would mark down his grades and attendance in the book on her desk. Hiei turned away from her and walked off the school grounds, wondering what he would do now that he had the whole day to himself.

* * *

"Botan, how is everything with in the human world?" Koenma asked, flipping through the channels on his TV. War. Murder. A birthday party. Political scandal. Bo-ring.

"Ooh! Quick! Change the channel to the elementary school!" Botan said, dropping a stack on papers in front of Koenma and staring at the screen. Koenma pushed the papers out of his way and groaned.

"An elementary school? Why, if I may ask?"

"It's Hiei's first day, I want to see how he does!" Botan said excitedly, "I bet he'll be just like Kurama and get straight A's."

"If you say so Botan," Koenma said, looking somewhat embarrassed by her intense enthusiasm. He raised the remote and clicked twice, turning the channel to a small elementary school hall where students were hurrying to class, crying for their parents, or simply goofing off. Koenma let out a low whistle.

"What a zoo! Are you sure you're going to be able to find him in this mess?" Koenma asked, seeing no one that even remotely resembled the little fire demon.

"Huh... uh..." Botan looked up and down the screen before grabbing the remote from Koenma and changing the channel. "He must be in the classroom already!"

Koenma watched her scan the classroom, which took much less time then the hallway, and strongly suspected Hiei was not there either. His suspicions were confirmed when Botan stuck her hands on her hips and emitted a cry of outrage.

"That Yusuke must be setting a -horrible- example if he's skipping the first day of school!" She said, turning away from the TV and heading for the door. Koenma looked into the classroom for a moment before turning his head towards Botan.

"Hey! Wait! Where are you going? I still need an update on the Human World!" He cried, hopping out of his seat and following her only as far as the door.

"I'll tell you when I get back, Koenma sir!"

* * *

Kurama was at school, studying in Biology. Yusuke was being dragged down the hall by Keiko to his next class. Kuwabara was already in class, goofing off. Genkai was at home, playing a video game. Yukina was doing house work. Hiei replaced the bandage and groaned slightly, feeling the steady ache in his forehead become a sharp pain.

He wasn't sure what it was that hurt so badly in his head, but he did know that whatever it was seemed to give him these strange abilities to watch people from far away, control people, and lift things. He had a feeling that if he kept testing it out he'd be able to do much more, but he wasn't a masochist and he didn't like the headaches that came with using it. He sighed and fell back into the grass.

Once he'd managed to get out of school Hiei had walked almost by accident to the park and headed back into one of it's most remote places. There he had found a tree so far out of the way he didn't think anyone would notice him, and had taken a short nap. Now he wasn't sure what to do.

His head still ached, and he was beginning to feel hungry. Sure, lying in the grass in a patch of sun was enjoyable, but he was seven. He needed to **do** something, anything.

After a few moments of restlessness, he grabbed a stick off the ground and then a rock. Tossing the rock in the air, he began to swing at it wildly with his stick. One hit sent it spiraling into the tree where it bounced off. Hiei ran to retrieve it so he could hit the rock again. This time he kept it airborne for three hits before it was sent spinning into the brush.

Hiei grinned faintly. He liked this new game.

* * *

"Oh, where is he? When I find that boy, I swear I'm gonna drag his butt to school!" Botan said as she drifted lazily over the skies of the Human World. She could not find him at his school, nor Kurama's, not Yusuke's, and she hadn't seen him at his house either. She began to turn around for another look at the school when she passed over the park and heard an odd sound.

She drifted lower and heard it again. A crack, like the sound of a baseball being his with a bat. The sound rang out again, and again. Botan landed easily and put her oar away, then she began to follow the sounds. From a distance she saw Hiei swinging a stick through the air and keeping a small rock up in the air. He was so caught up in the process he didn't even notice Botan zooming down through the trees and landing behind him.

"HIEI!" That, however, he noticed. Hiei jumped as if someone had shocked him and the rock fell from the air and landed on his head, startling him further and making him fall down. Botan watched Hiei stand up and totter around a bit before looking at her.

"Darn, I forgot about you..." He mumbled quietly, wondering if there was any way he could invade Botan's mind like he had the teachers. Botan sent Hiei a mean look and held her oar threateningly.

"Hiei! What are you doing skipping school like this? Don't you know how important an education is?!" She said, brandishing the oar at him. Hiei looked away from her and began to search for the rock.

"I'm not going to school no one likes me there," He said, picking up the rock at tossing it in the air. He raised the stick to swing when Botan caught the rock. Hiei glared at her, but the look of concern on her face surprised him slightly.

"What do you mean no one likes you? Hiei, you haven't even been there one day and you already think that?" She said walking over and setting her hand on his head. Hiei looked down and slightly off to the side so he couldn't see Botan at all. She had looked at him with pity many times before, but lately it just bothered him when she did it.

"No one likes me, that's all," He mumbled, pushing Botan's hand off his head and scowling slightly. Botan was surprised, since she had made the same affectionate gesture only a few days ago and received a smile for it. Now he just stood with his arms crossed, stick in hand, scowling at the ground. She settled her hand on his shoulder and, not feeling him resist, knelt down to his level.

"Hiei, what makes you think they don't like you?" She asked gently, trying to coax the information from the boy. His expression didn't even soften as he spoke.

"They're making fun of the bandage on my head, and they keep calling me names! I know they don't like me, and I'm not going back. I-"

_'-am a monster who might hurt someone.'_

"-don't belong there!" Hiei yelled, his frustration and confusion running high. He didn't know why the other children didn't seem to like him, but every time he thought about it he always came to the same answer. He did not belong. They were not the same.

"Hiei!" Botan said, turning the child so he faced her. Hiei clenched his fists and began to feel the stirring. He focused everything he had to block it out.

"Hiei, everyone get's called names at school, not just you. It doesn't mean people-" She stopped when she felt his growing spirit energy. It felt like static electricity crackling over her hands, her arms, over her clothes, and through her hair. She felt as though she were hanging onto two wires and using her own body to complete the circuit. She struggled to hang on.

"Hiei, what is it? Hiei?" Botan said, gritting her teeth against a sudden surge of energy from the child. How had his power grown so much without them knowing? He had levitated things through his Jagan, but the Jagan was a completely separate being from Hiei. It was a parasite using his life and energy to live. For Hiei to be generating this much spirit energy...

Hiei shook his head quietly, face scrunched in a look of pain and concentration. She thought she could hear him whispering something, as though hearing some invisible voice that was accusing him of a crime. She forced herself to grip him tighter and was rewarded with a sharp pain that bolted up one arm and down the other. She felt the air around him begin to grow hot and released on of her hands.

"Hiei! Snap out of it!" She didn't mean to hit him as hard as she did, but she couldn't think of another way to shake the boy from his fugue. Her hand made connection with a loud, sharp SMACK. Hiei blinked, looking dazed, and the energy he had been generating simply vanished. The mark on his face turned white, and then blood red.

"Oh..." Botan watched the child reach up and touch his face, eyes wide with shock. He lowered his hand and looked at the ground, as if trying to work out what had just happened. He could remember the voice talking again and then his face had hurt. When he looked back up he saw Botan's eyes, full of tears.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Botan sobbed, pulling the child into a firm embrace. Hiei blinked and then gently patted Botan's shoulder. She hugged him tighter and Hiei frowned. He could remember her shaking him, but not much else until he had been hit. All he could remember was the voice, and that bothered him. He sighed and pulled Botan away so she was at arms length.

"Botan? Are you okay?" He asked, deciding to overlook his own problem for the moment and worry once Botan had stopped crying. Botan stared at Hiei as if he should have been acting differently. Botan began to wipe her eyes.

"Hiei, don't you-"

Hiei, seeing that no more tears were going to fall from his friend's eyes, let go of Botan and began to walk away. He wasn't sure why, but the whole situation was making his very uncomfortable and confused. He had been hugged a lot by Botan before, but now it just felt kind of creepy. Seeing her cry had been odd as well, since she was always so happy. He dropped his stick and picked up his book bag.

"Hey Botan? Can we get some ice cream?"

* * *

Botan handed Hiei his ice cream, still surprised that Hiei didn't remember her striking him, and followed him to a bench. Hiei hummed quietly, kicking his feet gently and licking frantically at his ice cream. Botan felt a smile pull at the edge of her mouth. How could someone be so dangerous and so precious at the same time?

Hiei looked up at Botan, a glint of curiousity in his eyes. "What are you looking at?"

"Oh, nothing, just enjoying the day," Botan answered, digging into her own strawberry cone. Hiei shrugged and returned to his ice cream, casting out his sense experimentally. His head ached faintly, but the pain was not as bad as when he had watched everyone earlier. He could feel Botan beside him, her energy a bubbling pool of guilt tainted concern, and beyond them the ice cream vendor who seemed about bored out of his gourd. He reached further.

There was a squirrel, hot on the trail of some new food source, and a bird who was getting tired of flying. He could feel people, and a girl who was walking through the park. She felt a little younger then him, so maybe she was there with her parents. A little beyond that-

Hiei dropped his cone and slid himself back against the bench. _What is that?!_ Botan looked at him curiously.

"Hiei? What's wrong?" She asked, making Hiei looked up at her in a sudden dawning comprehension. He grabbed Botan's hand and pulled, making her rise from her seat.

"Come on Botan, we gotta go home," He said, taking fearful looks around as he began to pull her towards the park exit. Botan frowned.

"Why do you want to go home so suddenly?" She asked, noting the fear in his eyes and movements. Hiei looked up at her and smiled weakly.

"I think Genkai is in the park somewhere, and I don't want her to know I skipped school. She yells really loud," He said, summoning up as much honesty in his tone as he could. Botan laughed, which must have meant she bought it, and began to lead Hiei out of the park.

"Silly, you're going to have to face her eventually," Botan said, looking down at the boy. That's when she saw it, a flash of something like concern mingled in the fear, concern that wouldn't be there if it was just Genkai he was worried about. She opened her mouth to talk and saw the red mark on his face she created. She winced internally and turned her head away. She'd ask the boys if anything was wrong later.

**Note: Working up towards the finale here.**

**...Of course that'll probably take an ungodly amount of chapters to do...**

**...There's no end to it, is there?**


	9. The School Mate

**Note: Hiei's not completely clueless in this one, only slightly XD**

**The reason for this new characters introduction is simple, the kid needs friends darnit! He's gonna turn into a hermit otherwise! No, she's not there for an intentional pairing or anything and she doesn't have weird powers. She's just a girl.**

**If anyone thinks she could make for a good HieixOc pairing tell me, because otherwise she'll just be a friend. -Does battle with her internal Mary Sues-**

**...Extreme OOC, but it's so cute XD**

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Did the clock always go this slow, or had he entered some new area with a time warp? Hiei put his head down on his desk and sighed audibly. It was the second day of school, and he had gone mostly because there was no other choice.

Kurama walked him there this time, and he had no doubt what so ever that Botan was watching him from some remote location. He let out another sigh and rested his forehead on the desk. It was nice and cool, and felt good against the abused skin there. Very good.

His forehead had been aching since yesterday, when he had taxed the powers of whatever lay beneath the scar dearly. He had been searching most of the evening for that... **thing** he had felt in the park. He hadn't been able to locate it, and everytime he felt he was close his scar had opened wider and he had to stop. It was very painful.

"Hiei? Are you okay?" He felt a hand settle itself on his back. He looked up and saw his teacher, the very same one he had hypnotised the day before. He forced a smile and nodded, which must have satsified her because she smiled back and walked away to continue teaching. Hiei forced his eyes to the blackboard where there were a set of new words to learn.

He began copying them down half heartedly when he felt something bounce off the back of his head. He began writing again, trying to ignore it, when something else hit him. Someone behind him giggled faintly and Hiei put his pencil down.

Botan had, in a sense, been right about the other kids not disliking him. They hated him. For some unknown reason, they had decided the instant they saw him to avoid him, humiliate him, ridicule him, anything it seemed to keep him away or at the end of the pecking order. He couldn't understand it. What had he done to them?

"Hey, kid," a voice to his right whispered gently. He looked over and saw a girl with reddish hair and blue eyes looking at him sternly, like Botan had the day before when she found him skipping.

The girl had, earlier that day, nearly hit Hiei for bumping into her. He's avoided her best he could since then but had ended up stuck next to her in class. She wore scuffed mary janes and an already dirty school uniform. He could remember her playing in the dirt earlier.

"Pay attention why don't you? We're being tested on this tomorrow," she hissed at him, turning her head away and refocusing on her work. Hiei blinked and looked at the board again before it clicked. The teacher must have told them about it while he was dazing off. He mumbled a quiet thanks before copying the rest of words down.

More things hit the back of his head and he grit his teeth. Why wouldn't they leave him alone? Why did they hate him? The bell rang, and the children all jumped up and ran for recess without even pausing to hear the teacher release them.

Hiei began putting his notebook away, when a hand slammed down in the middle of it. He jumped backwards and looked up to see the girl standing right there, looking at him with something like disgust. _'Now what?'_

"Why do you let them do it?" She asked, giving him that same glare she'd given him when she told him there was a test tomorrow. Hiei glared back, something he'd been getting better and better at doing.

"Do what?" He snapped, jerking the notebook out from under her hand and taking it with him and he headed outside. The girl followed, face still set in a look of deep disgust.

"Why do you let them make fun of you like that, kid? You some kind of martyr?" She said, making Hiei's face go red with anger. He hunched his shoulders slightly and focused his gaze on the ground, trying to will her away.

"No, but there's no point to getting mad and fighting back either. It's not like it'll change anything," He answered, trying to sound calm. Maybe if she thought it didn't bug him she'd go away. He was wrong.

"So? Fighting back would be better then sitting there like a wuss and taking it," the girl said, making Hiei turn around to face her. She was smirking slightly, glad to have finally gotten a reaction out of him. His face was still red and now he looked angry. Very angry.

"I am not a wuss... whatever that is!" He yelled at her, making several children turn and stare. The girl began to laugh derisvley at him.

"'Whatever that is'? What the heck, have you grown up under a rock kid?" She asked, now trying to provoke the boy. "It means that you're a coward! That you're too much of a scaredy-pants to defend yourself!"

"I am not!" He said, breathing much harder suddenly. His heart was thrumming with the mad rage inside him, and the stirring was there too. He felt like he was crackling with invisible energy. Maybe the other kids could feel it too, because they were backing away. Not the girl though, it was like she was immune to whatever the rest of them were feeling.

"Prove it then! Why don't you defend yourself!" She yelled, her own face red. Hiei felt his scar beginning to pull open again and this time ignored it. He ran forward and without thinking gave the girl a good shove, knocking her over and making several students gasp. One boy ran, saying he was telling on Hiei, but he didn't care.

"Stop being so mean to me!" He yelled, fighting back the urge to cry as he did so. "Why do you hate me so much? What did I do?"

The girl got up slowly, he backside bruised and her hands scrapped. She watched Hiei curiously, as if he were some odd new creature that had stumbled into their midst. Hiei took a deep breath.

"I didn't do anything to you. So why are you doing this?" He mumbled to himself, looking at the ground and then at the girl. He saw her expression change and the one that replaced it made him recoil. Pity? No, he didn't want pity. He didn't want pity, he wanted understanding, not pity. He began to back up and ran directly into the legs of a playground monitor.

She grabbed him, and the girl, and pulled them inside to be punished.

* * *

"I want you both to write an apology to each other," their teacher said, setting pieces of paper in front of both of them. "You'll be spending recess in here every day this week, so you'll have plenty of time to write. Get started."

Hiei shot a glare at the girl in the desk beside him and she sent one back. He hands had been washed and dressed, and now he could see the dirt on her skirt from when she fell. A part of him was sorry, but that part was overshadowed by the rightouse anger that seemed to be burning him from the inside out.

Both students began writing their apologies and the teacher stood to go get her lunch. She warned them to behave before walking out the door, and as soon as she was gone the girl stretched her arms mightily above her head. He heard several, pronounce cracks in her spine before she lowered her arms.

"Wow this is boring," he heard her mumble, staring at the sheet of paper in front of her. Hiei felt the strong urge to reach over and slap the girl.

"Well that's your fault, isn't it? I never asked for you to come over and start making fun of me," Hiei hissed, trying to keep himself from breaking his pencil. The girl looked over at him and then stood up and walked over. Turning a chair around she sat down and stared at him.

"...What?" Hiei said, feeling steadily more uncomfortable the longer the girl sat there. He looked up and noticed that her hair was a carrot shade of red, kind of like Kuwabara's. It was extremely messy as well, as though someone had fought through it with a comb but had failed miserably to comb it into any sort of real pattern.

"What makes you think I hate **you**?" She said, smirking slightly. "I don't hate **you**, I don't know you well enough for that yet. What I do hate is how you've been letting people walk all over you since you walked in the door."

Hiei looked away from her and began to will her away again. This girl was beyond weird and had a funny way of getting under his skin. She seemed to know it too, which made it all the worse.

"I think your scared you'll end up hurting someone," she said abruptly, watching for reactions. "That's why you didn't just start scufflin' like other kids do when I start buggin'em. You just pushed me around a little."

Hiei kept his eyes focused on the paper, pushing the pencil carefully along. The girl reached over and poked at his bandage, making him wince.

"Would you leave me alone?!" He finally yelled, setting his pencil down and looking up. The girl smiled at him, an odd sort of secret smile. Hiei backed away from her until he thought he might meld into his chair. What the **heck** was wrong with this girl.

"I like you, you're not intimidated," she said suddenly, smile still playing around her lips. Hiei just stared at her. What was going on now? "What's your name kid?"

"Hiei," he mumbled, squirming around a little in his chair. The girl tilted her head slightly to the side.

"What was that? Speak up, kid, I can't hear you," she said, cupping one hand around her ear as if to catch a faint sound across the room. Hiei's blush darkened with anger.

"I said I'm Hiei!" He said much louder, and the girl giggled. He stopped for a second. Giggled? Why was she giggling? Did he have something odd on his face? Did he offend?

"Hiei huh? That's a weird name," she said, standing back up and heading over to her seat. "Where do you live Hiei?"

"Where do I live?" Hiei repeated, feeling more and more confused the longer they spoke. "I live at Genkai's temple-"

"You mean that crazy psychic lady?" The girl said, scribbling some stuff down on a piece of paper. Hiei looked down at his paper and began to write too.

"She's not crazy, just kind of mean," Hiei said, trying to focus. "Why do you want to-"

"Hey, mind if I come over today? My parents won't be home for a while and I don't like being alone, so could I?" The girl asked in a rapid fire, police interrogation manner. Hiei stared at her.

"Come over today?" He repeated dumbly, trying to absorb what exactly was going on. The girl grinned.

"Great! Then I'll be coming over at about four, alright?" She asked, looking over at him. Hiei managed to nod slightly before the teacher came in and told them to get back to work. The girl began working again instantly while Hiei sat there trying to figure out what exactly he had agreed to.

* * *

"KURAMA!" Hiei squeaked, running in the kitsune's direction. Kurama turned around and was suddenly tackled around mid-body by the small child. He winced slightly as some of the air left his lungs, but smiled and gently pried Hiei off. The small demon had a look of stunned confusion around him that was leading Kurama to wonder just how his first day at school had been.

"Kurama! Kurama! Iwenttoschoolandthekidsweremeanandmyheadhurtand-" Kurama covered Hiei's mouth. He shook his head slightly.

"Slower Hiei, I can't understand anything your saying," he said before releasing his mouth. Hiei took a deep breath.

"Kurama, a really mean and creepy girl said that she's gonna come over to Genkai's temple at four and I don't know what to do!" Hiei said, staring at Kurama with wide eyes. Kurama stared at the boy.

"'Mean and creepy'? Mean and creepy how?" Kurama asked, taking Hiei hand and leading him down the sidewalk towards home. Hiei's little hand was slick with sweat.

"She made fun of me at recess and called me a wuss. Then in detention she started talking to me again and she asked me my name and where I lived and said that she's coming over," Hiei answered, feeling steadily more desperate. He didn't **want** the girl to come over, he was scared she'd start making fun of him again.

"Detention? What were you in detention for?" Kurama asked, looking down at the boy. Hiei huffed loudly. It figured he'd pick up on that first.

"I... kinda pushed her a little on the playground," Hiei mumbled quietly, keeping his gaze well away from Kurama's. Kurama found himself smiling a little.

"Ah, so she made fun of you on the playground and then you pushed her down. Sounds kind of like puppy love," he commented, his tone light and teasing.

"Puppy what?!" Hiei spluttered, pulling his hand out of Kurama's. "What are you talking about? She hates me, I know she does!" he said, remembering everything the girl had said about him being a coward.

"Hiei, puppy love is when children, or adults, are kind of mean and play tricks on each other to show their affections. It doesn't mean she's **in love** with you or anything, just that she might like you," Kurama explained, grabbing Hiei's hand again as they crossed the street. Hiei gave kurama a look that suggested he though the fox was losing his mind.

"But, but she-" Hiei started, only to be stopped when Kurama held a finger in front of his face.

"Just let her come over Hiei, it's not like you're going to be locked in a room by yourself with her. Yusuke and the other will be coming over to Genkai's today and so will I, so there's no need to worry," he said, checking to see if his words had put the boy to rest at all. They had not.

"You're crazy Kurama," he mumbled as they walked the rest of the way home.

* * *

"Hiei has a girlfriend?!" Kuwabara said, with a disbeliving look on his face. Hiei colored and clenched his fists tightly.

"She's not my girlfriend! She's evil and-"

"Oh Hiei, that's so cute! Your first playdate!" Botan said, hugging the small child. He pushed her away and then headed out of the room, fuming. Yusuke broke down into laughter while Yukina hurried after the small child.

"That's really not very nice Yusuke, Hiei doesn't seem to know that the girl just want to play," Kurama said, giving Yusuke a firm look. Yusuke slowly pulled himself together, still emitting small chuckled every once in a while.

"Come on Kurama, did you see him freak out? I just wish I had my camera..." Yusuke mused, still grinning. Kuwabara, who had recovered from his initial shock, reached over to smack the back of Yusuke's head.

"Hey shut up! It's not his fault he's so clueless!" Kuwabara snapped, apparently unaware that he had just insulted the child demon himself. "He's just... well..."

"He just doesn't understand," Kurama offered, smiling a little. "Neither this child form of Hiei nor the one we knew have had any kind of experience with other children, so it's only natural he'd get a little flustered by the whole thing."

Kuwabara nodded vigorously and Yusuke sighed slightly before snickering.

"I still wish I had had my camera- Yeowch!" He was knocked to the floor from Keiko's hit, one side of his face nearly shoved over into the other side.

"Yusuke! You jerk!"

* * *

Hiei sat on the steps leading up to the temple, staring miserably down at the street below. Yukina sat beside watching birds hop from branch to branch in the trees around them. Hiei sighed and snuggled himself into Yukina's side, something that surprised her a little. Everyone else kept saying that Hiei didn't like being touched much anymore.

"'Kina, I don't **want** her to come here," He said quietly, still staring down at the bottom of the stairs. Yukina gently placed her arm around him and squeezed lightly.

"Don't worry Hiei, if she's really that mean we can tell her to go home. This is our house, remember?" She said, gently kissing the top of his head. She felt him squirm a little then, but he didn't push her away. He sighed quietly and shut his eyes.

That funny feeling, that strange **Thing** wasn't here. That was good. After checking the surrounding area a little more carefully he felt the girl, less then twenty feet from the bottom of the stairs, walking steadily for the temple. Hiei frowned slightly.

"Hiei, what's this girl's name?" Yukina asked, trying to give him something to focus on. Hiei looked up at her, then back at the stairs.

"I don't care," he answered, recalling that he never did ask the girl for her name. He could feel the girl, now just out of sight, stopping to catch her breath. Maybe she'd see the stairs and give it up? Nope, apparently not.

"Is that her?" Yukina said, pointing to a red head who had just popped into sight and begun climbing the stairs. Hiei nodded fretfully, watching the girl's steady progress towards the temple. About halfway up she waved to Hiei, who waved back.

She had changed from her dirty school uniform into a white shirt and denim overalls, which made her look kind of like a boy. Hiei scooted back away from Yukina and stood up as the girl approached him.

"Hi Hiei," she said and then turning to Yukina, "Hello Miss." Yukina smiled and nodded in acknowledgement before standing up.

"Supper will be done by six Hiei, will your friend be staying?" She asked, looking over at the girl expectantly. The girl shrugged.

"Maybe, we'll see," she answered before reaching over and taking Hiei's hand. "Come on, let's go play!"

Hiei gasped faintly as the girl took off, still gripping his hand, and nearly pulled his arm out of his shoulder. He began to run to keep up. The girl began to talk and she led him to a clear area.

"I brought sidewalk chalk so we can draw, do you like sidewalk chalk?" She asked, letting him go and emptying her pockets of the color chalks. Hiei shrugged and picked one up curiously. He sniffed it and began to cough.

"What are you doing?" The girl scolded, taking the chalk from him. "You don't sniff it! You color with it! Like this!" She said, dropping to her knees and dragging the chalk acrossed the ground. Hiei kneeled down to look at the colorful line.

"Can I try?" He asked meekly, hoping the girl wouldn't suddenly turn into the cruel person she had been at recess. The girl pointed to the pile of chalks.

"Help yourself, I have more at home," she said, drawing another large line on the ground. Hiei reached over cautiously and took a purple piece of chalk. He looked at it doubtfully before placing the end of it on the ground drawing a circle.

The girl looked over at him, and the look of surprised delight that overcame his feature made her laugh. He looked at her and then back at his circle, biting his lip and summoning a look of discontent on his face. She giggled and blew some of the chalk dust into the air before she continued coloring.

They sat there like that, coloring and not speaking, for a few hours before Kuwabara poked his head out.

"Hey! Dinner's ready!" He yelled, drawing both of the children's attention at once. Hiei handed the chalk he'd been using to the girl who pocketed it. She knelt down and began picking up the rest.

"Can I come over tomorrow too?" She asked, pocketing the last of it. Hiei looked at her warily before nodding, which made the girl grin.

"Alright, bye bye then!" She said, turning and running for the stairs back to the street. Hiei stood there a moment before running after her.

"Hey wait! Tell me your name! I'll remember, promise!" He called to the girl, who was already partway down the stairs. She turned and grinned at him.

"It's Nana! See you tomorrow!" The girl took off down the stairs again and Hiei smiled. He started to head inside when he saw what they had been drawing. Nana had drawn a large and cartoony flower. He had drawn a large purple dragon with a red eye.


	10. The Thing

**Note: Ha! none of this makes sense! HAHAHAHA! I'm done.**

It had taken nearly a week for Hiei to warm up to Nana, but the resulting friendship had been a great relief to him. Sitting in the classroom, surrounded by whispering children who kept looking at him like he was some zoo animal, the only thing he was really looking forward to was recess and then going home; and if he were honest the only reason he looked forward to recess was because he was able to play with Nana then.

He marked the last answer on his test and cast his senses around, feeling through the other children for the **Thing**. It wasn't nearby, thank goodness. It'd been two days since he'd last **felt** felt it, but just remembering it made him scared.

He could still recall the feeling of its energy, how cold and dark it was, and then what it had felt. The thing had just felt so... **hungry**. It was like looking into a bottomless pit that demanded filling and was never satisfied. That was why he had made Botan leave with him, because he thought the thing might see her and go after her.

He was afraid that it might-

_'-wake me up.'_

-have gone after him too if they stayed. He itched quietly at the bandage on his head and felt sparks of pain shoot through his forehead. He stopped instantly and set his hand down on the paper on his desk. Something bounced off his hand and made him jump slightly before he realized what it was. A piece of paper, carefully folded into a small square. It had fallen to the ground, but even from his seat he could see his name written on it.

After carefully angling his leg around his chair and desk he got the note and, using his school workbook for cover, opened it up and read it carefully.

'Hey Hiei, wanna go to the park after school? Check yes or no.' Beside the yes and no were boxes.

Hiei thought for a second before checking the 'yes' box and refolding the note. He quickly passed the note to Nana the instant he saw the teacher turn her back. Nana quickly unfolded the note, read it, and flashed Hiei a quick thumbs up before slipping the note beneath her workbook.

Hiei smiled faintly and began writing answers in the book again. The two of them had been going to the park or to each others houses almost everyday that week. At first Yusuke, and every once in a while Botan or Kuwabara, had teased him about it. Now though, they were being nearly as supportive as Kurama, Yukina, and Genkai who kept telling him that they were proud of him getting out of the house and playing with other kids.

Hiei finished that page he'd been working on, and then turned to the next one. He began to write again and then stopped. He started to lower the pencil again and stopped. Something was wrong, something was -horribly- wrong. He struggled to focus, to locate the source of the feeling, when he realized it was coming from inside him. He began to shiver and tried to force the feeling away.

It persisted, like a bad cough does even after you've taken ten cough drops. He put his hands over his head, feeling sick to his stomach and dizzy. He shut his eyes tight for a few moments. He felt strange, like he was burning up from the inside. Thinking it wasn't going to go away. He almost cried with relief when it did. He looked up and from the corner of his eyes saw Nana give him a quizzical look.

He shrugged lightly and refocused on his book. He had felt a similar feeling that had woken him last night. It hadn't been that bad then, at least not as bad as this time, and he had ignored it. Now though, he was beginning to think he may be getting sick or something. He bit his lip quietly, thinking. Maybe if he was careful no one would notice, and he'd be able to keep going to school and playing with Nana and-

_'What am I thinking?'_ He wondered, shaking his head slightly. _'I need to get better if I'm getting sick, whether that means playing or not. Besides, it's not as if she's going to stay my friend. She'll probably get up and leave as quick as she decided to be my friend.'_ He looked over at Nana and the workbook where she had hidden the note.

_'...But, maybe I'll tell them after we play at the park.'_

* * *

"Hiei, are you okay?" Kurama asked, looking down at the little fire demon. He had been quiet the whole way home from the park, and looked pale. Hiei nodded quietly, feeling oddly cold but otherwise fine. Kurama reached down and gently touched Hiei's forehead, frowning. 

"Hiei, I think you'd better go to bed when we get home. You have a pretty bad fever," Kurama said, placing his hand on top of the boy's head.

"Fever?" Hiei repeated, looking up at Kurama. "You mean I'm sick?"

Kurama nodded, saying "Yes, probably a bug you caught at school or something." Hiei stopped, confused.

"I thought you said I'm sick, so why is a bug involved?" He asked, still looking thoroughly confused. Kurama stifled a laugh and shook his head.

"It's a figure of speech, Hiei," Kurama said, reaching down and picking up the small child. He felt warm to the touch, as though he'd been sitting in front of a fire for a long time. Hiei lowered his head onto Kurama's shoulder and continued to shiver. Kurama frowned slightly.

"Hiei, are you cold?" He asked quietly, shifting him slightly in his arms as he continued walking. He felt a nod from Hiei, and then felt him sigh. Kurama continued walking.

_'His body is beginning to change,'_ He thought, crossing the street with the sleepy, sick child in his arms. _'Soon he'll begin showing even more signs of his demon powers, we'll have to have someone begin teaching him to control himself soon.'_

"Hey Kurama?" Hiei murmured, sitting up slightly in his arms. Kurama quickly put an arm around Hiei back to keep him from tumbling down and hitting the ground.

"What?" He asked, studying the boys face. He looked tired and pale, with his eyes half closed he also had a slightly vacant look.

"I think it's gonna rain today," Hiei answered quietly, staring up at the sky. Kurama smiled and made Hiei resettled himself on his shoulder.

"Yes Hiei, it'll probably rain soon. We'll be inside before then," Kurama said, finally heading up the steps to Genkai's temple. Hiei sighed again, a soft whispery sound. He just felt so cold, and so tired. He wanted to lay down and sleep for a long, long time and before they reached the top of the stairs he had begun to do just that.

* * *

_'He was running again, but from what he didn't know. He turned a corner and continued running, eyes scanning from one side to the other. Trees, why were there so many trees? He couldn't remember there ever being so many trees around here. Where did they all come from?'_

_'He turned again, running deeper and deeper into the forest. Was it the Dark Forest? Maybe, he'd never been inside that place. He'd tried once and Genkai had beaten him nearly senseless for it. He didn't know why though. The woods felt... good. Familiar. He liked it.'_

_'Turn again, and now he was somewhere else. The forest had melted away and he was standing at Genkai's temple even though he'd been running away from it moments before. He jumped now and landed on the roof. He headed to the other side, to the building just outside the temple. It was the place where he went before to play with Nana, the place with a statue inside.'_

_'He pushed the doors open and looked around inside. It was dark, but somehow he could still see. Sitting in front of the statue were some clothes and a sword in its sheath. He began to walk forward again, and stopped.'_

_'What was that smell? It was like copper, but different. He looked up and saw nothing, he looked behind him and saw nothing. He looked back at the statue and nearly screamed. Blood dripped slowly down its head, its back, its arms, legs, and pooled on the ground.'_

_'He saw the sword and clothes were covered in it too, soaked in it. He wanted to scream but it was like something had stolen his voice. The room began to pulse and the floor changed. It became hands reaching up to grab him, and the hands were the hands of his friends and family and then they were -his- hands and he finally began screaming and screaming until his lungs were going to burst and his head split open, just screaming and screaming and-'_

"Hiei, wake up!" Hiei gasped and opened his eyes. He was back in his room. He was **safe**. Turning his head slightly he saw Yukina, her face full of concern. Hiei sat up slightly, shivering in a cold sweat.

"Hiei are you okay?" Yukina asked, using her sleeve to wipe the sweat off the child's head before it could slide down and sting his eyes. She looked at his face and saw something odd. His eyes looked... different. Sharper, a little harder. Less child-like. "Hiei?"

Hiei snapped his head in her direction and felt the dreams hold over him break. The phantom smell of blood was gone and the feeling of those hands grabbing him, scratching him, pulling him vanished. He gave a small sound of relief and latched onto Yukina's arm, seeking comfort and warmth.

Yukina smiled, relieved the look in his eyes had passed, and gently pulled the child onto her lap where he squirmed and wiggled until he was comfortable. She began to rock him gently from side to side, humming gently. Hiei snuggled in gently, and began to drift.

He hadn't wet the bed this time, that made him feel somewhat proud of himself, but the dream hadn't really been like the ones before it. It was like a string of broken memories that sometime make their way into your head while you sleep and then became a big mess. The problem was, he couldn't remember anything like that ever happening. Nothing even remotely similar.

"Hiei? Do you want something to eat?" Yukina asked, breaking the child from his thoughts. "I can get you some soup if you want."

Hiei shook his head and shivered again. Yukina gently resettled the little demon in his bed and covered him with a blanket. Outside rain was falling in steady sheets. Yukina gently began stroking his hair, trying to put the boy back to sleep.

"Hey 'Kina?" Hiei whispered, staring at the ceiling. He could already feel his eyes growing heavy, and he wanted to sleep again despite the nightmare. Still, there was just a feeling, like a foreboding weighing on his mind.

"Yes?" Yukina said, still stroking the boy's hair. She saw his eyes open, and was struck by how similar they were to her own. They were exactly the same shade of red as her own.

"Please don't go outside today, okay?" Hiei asked, feeling sleep pull at his mind. Yukina gave him a confused look but nodded her agreement to the odd request. He smiled a little bit. He was glad she wasn't asking questions, and glad he didn't need to explain. He drifted back off to sleep, and this time it was dreamless.

* * *

Yukina walked away from Hiei's room, frowning slightly. Hiei had that feeling too then, that feeling that something bad was going to happen. She brought her hand to her mouth and bit her lip. 

_'Nothing bad is going to happen,'_ she scolded herself silently. _'You're just being paranoid.'_

_'But Hiei feels it too,'_ she answered herself silently._ 'He feels it too, so it's not just me-'_

"Hi Miss Yukina."

Yukina turned and saw Nana standing at the top of the stairs with a large yellow umbrella. She smiled and waved.

"Hello Nana, I'm sorry, but Hiei can't play today," she called to the small child. Nana ran to where Yukina was, hanging onto a small bag which she held out to Yukina.

"I know that, so I brought these. They're the same cookies Mommy makes me when I'm sick. Mommy wasn't home, so I tried to make them. I hope they're good..." Nana said as Yukina took the package. Inside were around twenty slightly crumbled, burned, and abused cookies. Yukina smiled.

"I'm sure he'll like them very much Nana. I'll give them to him next time he wakes up, okay?" Yukina said, folding the top of the bag over so the rain wouldn't get in. Nana nodded with a grin.

"Tell him that if he feels better tomorrow he can come to my house, I got some new coloring books and... stuff," Nana turned her head and looked in the direction of the Dark Forest. The forest had never really bothered her before, and the only reason she had ever avoided it was because of Genkai. But now, now it felt dangerous. It something was in there watching them.

Yukina looked at the forest too, then reached out and grabbed Nana's hand. "Come on, we have to get inside, now!"

Back in Hiei's room, the boy began to stir, and then opened his eyes. He could feel it, that **Thing**, that hunger he had felt before. "It's finally here."

**Note: I'm sorry if this is getting weird. I'm experiencing burn out.**


	11. The Monster

**Note: What the heck? I thought I put this in... Oh well. I've upped the rating because of blood and gore. It may not seem like much, but just to be safe, eh? ...I need to work on gorey scenes... --**

"Miss Yukina? What is it?" Nana asked as Yukina pulled her down the hall leading to Hiei's room. Yukina shook her head slightly, face a little whiter but her mouth a grim line of determination.

"Don't worry Nana, everything is fine. We just need to get Hiei and-" She opened the door and stopped. The bed, where she had left Hiei just moments ago, was empty. The window was wide open and rain poured in, soaking the carpet and wall below it. Yukina stood still, staring at the window.

'He can't have gone outside, he was so sick!' She thought, horrified. Nana stared at the open window.

"Why did Hiei go outside using the window? Why not the door?" She asked, confused. Nana knew Hiei was odd, but surely not this odd. Unless, he hadn't wanted to run into them on his way out of course, but how would he have known they were coming?

"Nana, go to the kitchen and stay there, I have to get Hiei," Yukina ordered, turning around and running back down the hall. Nana began to run to the kitchen, and stopped. There was that feeling again, that feeling of danger. She didn't know where it was coming from, but it scared her. She was worried about Miss Yukina, and Hiei.

Nana stared at the kitchen door, and then started down the hall towards the outdoors. She would go to the kitchen, but only after she knew her friend was safe. She pushed on the door, and headed out.

* * *

Hiei stood before the statue, swaying slightly and feeling sick. In his dream, the sword and clothes had been right in front of the statue, but of course, they were not there now. Why would they be? It was only a dream. Still, Hiei began to look around the room.

He checked each of the four corners, around the pillars, and even behind the statue. Nothing. Not even a piece of black thread. He sighed and began to walk back around towards the front of the statue.

Now what was he going to do? He wasn't sure why, but everything inside of him was screaming at him to find those clothes and that sword. It was like they were a long forgotten part of him. He was almost certain that if he could find them he could protect everyone. He began to walk away when a board shifted slightly beneath his foot. It groaned loudly.

Curious, Hiei kneeled down and pressed on the board. It moved slightly and groaned again. He dug his nails into the wood and pulled. He felt his nails begin to splinter and break, and pain laced itself up his fingers and into his hands and arms. He ignored it and kept pulling until the board came up. Sucking on his bleeding fingers, Hiei peered cautiously into the space under the board.

A sword in its sheath, black pants, a shirt with the sleeves torn off, a cloak, and a set of white bandages. Hiei felt the air leave his lungs at the sight of them. There they were, in the floor in front of the statue. He smelled no blood, saw no red, but in his mind's eye it was there staining everything crimson. He reached down and pulled the sword out of the hiding place.

It felt so... familiar. He removed it silently from its sheath and stared into the blade. In it he saw a reflection, but it wasn't his. Or was it? The eyes were red like his, the hair was black and white but something was so hard and cold about the face. Hiei dropped the sword and grabbed his head, pain screaming through it.

'I can't just sit here and stare at this stuff,' He thought once it had passed. 'I've got to go check on Yukina, I've got to make sure that **Thing**-'

Hiei heard the doors slam open behind him. He froze, still down on his knees in front of the hole, feeling as though someone had stopped his heart. He could hear the soft clicking of nails on the wooden floors as it approached him, its hunger filling every corner of Hiei's mind.

Hiei thought, turning around to look at his attacker. _'Is it... really going to eat me?'_ He wasn't sure how exactly he knew it was going to eat him, but the knowledge appeared in his mind as though he had known it all along. It would eat him because he was young and probably wouldn't be able to resist. After it ate him, it would become stronger and it would be able to eat stronger demons. Hiei stared in horror at the creature behind him. It was around the same height as Kurama, but it was horribly thin. He could see every bone in its body and its skin was stretched tightly over bones and muscle. He couldn't tell where its fingers ended and its nails began, and the same went for its toes. It stared at him with large, insect like eyes. Hiei struggled to suppress a scream that was rising in his throat. 

The **Thing** slowly approached Hiei, staring at him with greedy hunger. Hiei tried to stand up, to back away from it, and tripped over the sword. He looked quickly into its reflective surface and did not see those hard cold eyes anymore. He just saw a pale, frightened child.

"Come here little boy," the **Thing** said, still steadily approaching him with one if it's clawed hands out stretched. "Come here little boy, I only want to play."

Hiei turned and grabbed the sword, then he stood up and ran for the statues. He felt a hand close, vice like, around his arm.

Hiei thought, as he was jerked up off the ground. 

The **Thing** turned him around so he was forced to look into its eyes. Its breath was terrible, like rotten meat and blood. Hiei gagged slightly as the **Thing** eyed him greedily.

"So young, so strong, how did you get so strong little demon boy? How did you get so strong? Did you eat your peers? Did you eat humans?" Hiei stared at it in horror. Eat humans? What was it talking about? Why did it keep calling him a demon? "No matter, you're going into my belly now, little demon, and then I'll have your strength and power."

Hiei kicked out with his foot, feeling it connect with the **Things** chest. Something held for a moment, and then snapped like a brittle twig. The **Thing** screeched and threw him hard against the wall. Hiei collapsed there, breath gone, sword fallen a few feet away from him.

"Wretch! Imbecile! Foolish little demon! I'll not make it easy on you now! Oh no! I think I'll wring your scrawny neck and then bit off all your fingers before I kill you!"

Hiei felt his heart pound and tried to move, but could not. His fear had frozen him in place, and all he could do was stare at the sword a few feet away. He felt strange, distant, and then he felt the stirring. Without thinking Hiei threw himself into the sensation with abandon, hoping whatever was there was not as scary as what awaited him here.

_

* * *

' "Stupid child, did you really think you could stay in the human world?" Hiei looked up and saw cold, hard red eyes. He screamed and backed away from the person who owned those eyes. He wore the same clothes that Hiei had found beneath the floor board, and held the sword in his hand.'_

'He was dripping with blood. It ran down his head, down his hands, it dripped off his sword and his chin. He looked at though he had just come from a slaughter, and the sight of him made Hiei begin to cry in fear. The phantom slapped him smartly across the face, stopping his tears.'

' "Shut up. I don't want to hear your crying," he said, looking disgusted with him. Hiei reached up and touched his face, then jerked his hand away. There was warm, wet blood on his face from the blow. He began to shiver.'

' "Look at this mess you've gotten everyone into. It's because of you that this demon has appeared, and its because of you that everyone is in danger now, you know that?" The phantom sat down, eyeing Hiei with that same disgusted look. "So now what are you gonna do? Are you gonna run away and leave that stupid girl and Yukina to die?" '

' "No!" Hiei cried, tears returning to his eyes and choking it voice. "No! I-I'll save them! I'll find a way to-" '

' "How?" The phantom asked, smiling a little now. "Are you going to pick up a sword and cut it down yourself? I'd like to see that. Could you take it? Being a monster like that?" '

'Hiei stared at the phantom, and then at the ground. Become a monster? It was the one thing he feared more then that Thing out there. But, if he didn't do something...'

' "If I have to, then I'll be a monster. I'll be anything, so long as it means everyone is safe," He whispered softly, staring at the ground. He saw a hand held out in front of him, and saw the phantom was the one holding it out. He was still smiling.'

' "Come on then, we don't have all day." '

'Hiei reached for the phantoms hand, his eyes squeezed shut. Somehow, he knew that once he took its hand, he could never go back to being the child he had been before. That was over now. As the phantom's cold hand closed over his, Hiei shed his last tear.'

'I'm sorry everyone...'

* * *

Hiei returned to consciousness, feeling a clawed hand closed tightly around his throat. For some reason it amused him, so much so that he smiled.

Hiei thought, opening his eyes again. The **Thing**, which was simply another demon, smiled. 

"Awake? Good, then I'll be able to enjoy your screams while I eat you," it slobbered, still eyeing him with greedy hunger. Hiei felt his smile grow wider.

"Yes, there will be screaming," He agreed, putting one hand around the one that held him. He began to tighten his grip. the demon seemed amused at first, then it was wincing slightly in pain, and then it was panicking. Hiei heard bones breaking. It began screaming and dropped him. Hiei landed easily on his feet and watched for a few seconds as the pathetic creature screamed and moaned pathetically over its broken hand.

"You, you little beast! You'll pay for this you little monster!" It screeched, swinging at him with its other arm. Hiei dodged it easily, and had the distant thought that everything seemed to be moving in slow motion while only he continued moving at a normal speed.

He stepped easily behind the demon and eyed its thin back. Hiei rose his right hand and focused on the left half of its back. With only a moments hesitation, he plunged his hand through its rib cage and into its chest cavity.

He felt bones shattering as his hand entered, and several cut his hand, but what interested him the most was the pulsing, throbbing muscle his hand had just closed around. He felt its pace quicken for just a moment as the demon realized what was happening, and then he crushed it. Blood instantly splattered everywhere: On the floor, the statue, pillars, walls, and, of course, on Hiei.

The demon shivered slightly and let out a rasping death rattle. Then it collapsed, leaving Hiei standing there holding the remnants of its heart in his hand. Hiei dropped the bloody, broken muscle, fell to his knees, and vomited. When the retching passed, he wiped his mouth off, smearing blood across his face, and stood up again. Still feeling a little shaky, but growing steadier with every passing moment, he began to gather his things.

* * *

"Hiei!" Nana yelled, running towards the building separate from the temple. She could remember playing there once with Hiei, and as she ran up the steps she hoped to find him inside safe and sound. Nana put her hands on the door and felt it begin to move. She jumped back, terrified, and then smiled when she saw Hiei step out into the shadows.

"Hiei! Thank goodness! Where have you-" Nana stopped short as the scent of blood reached her nose. It was coming from inside, and from Hiei. "Hiei, did... did you get hurt?" She asked, staring at her friend. Something was, different about him. Vaguely frightening and threatening. She took a step away from him.

Hiei looked at Nana for a long moment, and then stepped into the sun. Blood stained his right arm from finger tips to his shoulder, and pieces of muscle still clung to his palm. His clothes were spattered with blood and a smear of red went from one side of his face to the other. At some point during the fight his scar had opened completely and now a purple eye stared out at Nana. The little girl's knees failed her and she collapsed, staring at that third eye.

"...Sorry Nana," Hiei said, feeling both truly sorry and at the same time not that sorry at all. He felt cold and almost empty compared to how he normally felt. He was aware that he was bloody and yet, he didn't mind it. The blood almost felt good. Nana continued to stare at him, eyes filled with tears and fear. Hiei reached down and quietly shut her eyes for her so she would not see the body that lay just beyond the door. Then he walked past her, down the stairs, and across the yard. He headed straight for the Dark Forest, and once beyond the wards, vanished into the trees.

Nana sat there for a long time, eyes shut with bloody fingerprints over each eyelid. She began to shiver, and then finally screamed. She was still screaming when everyone found her.


	12. The Child

**Note: Hmm... Should I bring Nana back later on? Any opinions? -Taps computer screen- Hello?**

**Inner Fangirl: OMGOSH! KAWAII!**

**Me: O.O Son of a- Wait, what's cute? Oh yeah, this first part before the break is from Nana's POV, which is why Kurama is reffered to as Shuichi, just clearin' that up :)**

Nana woke up in bed with the covers pulled up to her chest. She laid there a long time, puzzling over the odd and terrifying dream she had just had.

In the dream her best friend Hiei had been covered in blood (But whose blood? She had a feeling a little of it might have been his, but where did the rest come from?) and had had a third eyes that had opened from the scar in her forehead. He had been holding a set of black clothes and a sword. She could remember the mind numbing fear that had settled over her when she saw her friend. It wasn't the blood really, but his face that terrified her. He had looked so cold and so cruel for a few moments that it had frozen her, inside and out. Then he had closed her eyes with that bloody hand, and that was the last thing she could remember of the dream.

Nana sighed with relief, pushing the covers off of her, and sat up. She must have fallen asleep before she had managed to go to Hiei's home. She had to hurry or it would be dark soon, and Momma didn't like it when she was out after-

Nana looked around the room in stunned silence. It wasn't her room, and this wasn't her bed. This was Hiei's room, she knew because the carpet was grey and the walls were white. Her carpet was green, and her walls were blue. Nana put her hands on either side of her head, feeling sick and dizzy.

_'I must have fallen asleep once I got here,'_ She thought, feeling a sense of fear and desperation set in. She got out of the bed and ran to the door, pulling it open and then running down the hall.

_'I just had a really bad dream, that's all. I'll go outside and Hiei will be there playing in the sand or stacking rocks or something and we'll go play, just like normal.'_ Nana slowed down, hearing a group of people talking together. She couldn't hear Hiei among them, but maybe he was just being quiet? He could be very quiet after all, the only time he was really talkative was when he was mad or excited. Nana rose her hand to open the door and stopped, hearing the words within.

"I can't believe it. I just can't believe it. Hiei has never shown any sort of violent behavior before so... I just can't believe it."

"Are you sure he didn't hurt he Yukina? There was a lot of blood in there, and she had some of her face..."

"I'm sure, I cleaned her off and she didn't have a scratch on her. He didn't hurt her..."

"Didn't hurt her... Well, not physically anyways. She was pretty hysterical when we got there, so I don't know how her mind is going to be when she wakes up."

"Do you think... he might have tried to go after her too?"

"No way! I watched them play everyday, Hiei wouldn't have tried to hurt her!"

"Kuwabara, we can't be sure. We all know that Hiei has periods of instability from the seed he ingested, so for all we know this could have just been another one of those periods that got worse instead of better."

There was a long silence, and Nana knew what they were thinking. They thought Hiei had tried to do something terrible to her. She wanted to open her mouth and tell them that it wasn't true, but she couldn't. If she said that, then it would mean that her dream hadn't been a dream. And if that were true, she'd have to examine the idea that her best friend was a monster.

Nana began walking back to Hiei's room without thinking, feeling suddenly exhausted. She had just laid back down and covered up when Shuichi came in. He was holding a mug of something that looked like tea. He set the mug down and sat beside her, gently pushing the hair out of her eyes.

"Nana? Are you okay?" He asked, looking down at the pale child. She looked away quietly, feeling a lump in her throat. She wanted to scream questions at him like 'what was happening? Why had that happened to Hiei? Where was he now?' But her throat was too tight. Why was this happening? Shuichi watched her for a few moments and then placed his hand behind her back and made her sit up. He held the mug in front of her.

"Drink this, you'll feel better," He said gently, setting the warm mug in her hands. Nana took the mug and began to drink, hoping it was something that might put her back to sleep. Maybe if she fell asleep she'd be able to wake up with everything right again.

Whatever was in the mug began to take hold on her and she felt strange, as if she had just left her body and was now watching everything from somewhere else. Shuichi gently laid her back down on the bed and covered her back up. He was about to leave when Nana managed to talk.

"Where did Hiei go?" She whispered, struggling to stay lucid and awake. Shuichi stopped and looked at her. He was quiet for a few moments before speaking.

"Don't worry about where he is right now, Nana. You've had a terrible shock, and you need to rest," he answered, trying to sound as gentle as possible. Nana shook her head and arched her back, something that made Shuichi look at her with an expression of grief.

"Shuichi, he didn't hurt me. He didn't, he just closed my eyes..." Nana began to drift. Somewhere she could hear someone asking her a question about someone, but her memory was suddenly foggy. She suddenly couldn't recall where she was, what had happened, nothing. She struggled against the feeling as it slowly began to consume other memories. The park, school, and finally the memory of her friend. She finally stopped struggling, and was left with vauge, broken memories of a dark haired boy who had pushed her on the playground.

* * *

"How's she doin' Kurama?" Yusuke asked when Kurama returned, and empty mug in hand. Kurama set the mug down on a small table and sighed audibly. 

"She'll be fine now, she probably won't remember any of this or Hiei now though," Kurama said, sounding bothered. After a few moments, he added, "Before she fell asleep she said that he didn't hurt her, he just closed her eyes."

There was a collective sigh of relief from everyone in the room. Botan smiled faintly.

"Then he didn't try to hurt his friend! Oh good, I was so worried we'd have to try and bring him in," She said with a short lived sort of relief. Kuwabara shook his head.

"We've gotta find him, he's just a kid. He can't be out there all alone," Kuwabara said, looking up at everyone. Kurama looked down at the floor.

"Kuwabara, I feel the same way, but if Hiei is unstable right now he may end up attacking us like he attacked that demon. We need to find him, but we need to be cautious about it. We don't want any casualties," Kurama said, silencing any protests that Kuwabara had been thinking up. Botan walked to the door and pulled out her oar.

"I'll take a quick look around, maybe he's still nearby," Botan said, and with that she floated off the ground and into the sky.

* * *

It had been raining the day he had become a child, he could remember that. The rain had stopped sometime while he had been killing that pathetic demon, and now the sun shined almost cheerfully through the trees of the Dark Forest. Hiei took a breath in and exhaled quietly. The air wasn't anything like the air of the Spirit World, but it was better then the air in that school and in his room. Much better.

"Hiei!" He looked up and saw a figure floating through the air above. "Hiei! Where are you?" Botan.

Hiei hurried beneath the brush and hid, watching Botan float around through his Jagan. She continued to call his name with a look of motherly concern and fear on her face. It almost made him laugh. After a few moments of circling, Botan headed off in another direction, still calling his name. Hiei let out a sigh of relief and pulled himself from the brush. His body was gripped by alternating feelings of extremem cold and extreme heat. Hiei sighed.

He'd need to find a place to sleep, probably for a long time. If he could just hibernate for a little while, maybe his body could begin dealing with the new demonic energies that were beginning to build back up in his body. He knew it was a long shot, but he was still hopeful. He wiped his head and left a long smear of half clotted blood across his head.

First thing first, he needed to wash and change his clothes. Humans had a funny habit of becoming overwhelmingly concerned about someone with blood on their clothes. He walked downhill, looking for either a stream or a place where the rain may have gathered. It didn't take long before he found a thin, cold stream.

Carefully removing his bloodied clothes, Hiei kneeled down beside the stream and began to scrub the blood off. The blood on his arms, face, and the backs of his hands came off easily but he found that the blood had settled deep within the ridges of his palms. It took a considerable amount of scrubbing to get it out.

After he was clean, he stepped out and pulled on his old clothes. They were now several sizes too big on him, but he couldn't afford to go back to the temple and get another set of clothes. He didn't want to deal with anyone that might be there, especially while he was still dealing with the idea of how pathetic a child he had been.

_'How pathetic a child I still am,'_ He reminded himself, frowning. He examined his body quietly, and came to the conclusion that he had been a scrawny child. His shoulders were narrow, his hips slightly bony, his chest was small, and his arms and legs felt like toothpicks. He sighed and began to dig a hole.

It didn't matter. He was seven now, he was sure of that much, and at the rate he was getting his energy back he may be able to return to his full power within a few years. Then he could cut out a territory here and be just fine on his-

Hiei shook his head hard. No, he wouldn't stay here in the Human World, he would go back to the Spirit World, where he belonged. He dug the hole a little deeper and set his bloodied clothes in it. As he buried the clothes he mused over where such an idea had come from. Too much time living like a human, no doubt. He tried to banish the thought, but it played around the corners of his mind like a catchy tune. He let out a growl of frustration.

_'No point getting worked up over it right now,'_ he thought, stamping down the earth on top of his clothes. _'First go to sleep, then worry about what a few years as a human has done to your psyche.'_ Hiei began to walk again, searching for the perfect place to sleep. After a short amount of time he found a tree that had been struck by lightning, the bottom half of it's trunk hollowed out by other animals seeking protection from the elements.

Hiei gathered branches and laid them across the opening of the trunk, then he laid leaves on top of the branches. His shelter complete, Hiei crawled inside and settled himself against the inside. He sighed contentedly and began to drift away.

Oddly, his last conscious thoughts were of his friends and family: Kurama, Kuwabara, Yusuke, Botan, Yukina, Keiko, and Nana. He was... sad that he wasn't at the temple, where he could go into Yukina's room to sleep if he had a nightmare or confide some secret in Genkai. He found that he wanted to be home, where he could go to the park and eat ice cream with his friends. He wanted to be home where he could play and fight with Nana. He frowned at the feeling, but before he could further examine it he was gone.


	13. The Three Demons

**Note: My mind is going a tad bit crazy, so don't mind me. Just doing what I can now. Ah yes, Hiei will still be acting a bit childish for obvious reasons, he's a kid. Granted, he'll be the kind of kid that'll break your fingers instead of kicking you, but still.**

**P.S. No one answered my question that was on the last chapter (Well, I hope it was. I seem to lose stuff on here sometimes.) Anyways, keep Nana on? Yes? No? Maybe so? I don't care so long as she dies a horribly gruesome death? The answers may bring about another story... _May_ :)**

**P.S.S. To subtle answer a question I've been posed... Well, your tears do provide me with salty sustinence >:)**

A year passed by, and the world went on.

Yusuke was assigned more stupid missions that nearly got him killed, and Kurama and Kuwabara always accompanied him to save his sorry behind at the last moment.

Kurama continued trying to keep his mother happy and continued to earn straight A's.

Kuwabara continued to fail nearly every class, swoon over Yukina, and obsess over kittens.

Yukina continued looking for her brother, to live with Genkai, and to take care of the temple.

The guest bedroom in Genkai's temple remained empty, a teddy bear gazing sadly at the empty bed. The books in the room remained piled, haphazardly in a corner. The child sized clothes remained in the dresser, unworn.

Nana continued going to school each day, looking at a desk beside her own which was empty and trying to remember who had been in it. Every day she walked home, past a park that she had played with someone in, and stopped in front of a temple with many stairs in front of it. She would stand there and stare for a long moment before continuing home.

A chair in each persons home was empty, and a cup went unused. A space on the wall, beside the door or window was also always vacant. No one took the spot, because even though no one was there, it was already claimed.

People were born. People died. The world continued to turn. Life went on, and so the memory of a boy faded but did not quite die.

* * *

"Yusuke! Hey, pick up!" Koenma yelled at the TV screen, looking exasperated. After what seemed like forever, Yusuke did indeed pick up, looking annoyed. 

"Yeah? What is it this time?" He asked, glaring at Koenma through the screen. Koenma pretended not to see the glare and began announcing Yusuke's next mission.

"Yusuke, this next mission is extremely important! So-"

"Pay attention, yeah yeah. Can't you come up with something new to say?" Yusuke asked the now fuming Prince. Koenma lightly tapped his fingers on his desk. "...Yeah, now what were you saying?"

"As I was saying, this mission is extremely important because it involves several demons who prey upon children," Koenma said, placing his fingers and leaning back slightly in his chair. "Each of these demons has a specific way to target prey. One is a shape shifter that will change its form to suit a child, and then lead the child away to devour its life energy. The second one has the appearance of a child, and it uses its appearance in a way similar to the first. The third is probably the most dangerous, and it takes the form of a doll."

"A doll? What's so dangerous about that?" Yusuke said, looking confused.

Koenma suppressed a growl and began to explain, "It's dangerous, Yusuke, because it can inhabit the bodies of other dolls as well. Each doll it inhabits appears perfectly normal to the average human, and once it is in possession of a child it slowly begins sapping the child's life force, and eventually devours the child's soul. It can possess around four dolls at once, which makes it very dangerous. Find each of these demons, Yusuke, and bring them back here. Understood?"

"Right, don't worry about it," Yusuke answered, flashing a quick thumbs up. "I'm all over this."

"I hope so Yusuke, chao," and with that Koenma broke the connection. Koenma sat back in his chair for a moment, thinking. He reached forward and tapped a button on his desk.

"Send in Botan please," Koenma ordered, letting his finger back off the button and waiting patiently. Botan stepped in, looking a little confused.

"You wanted to see me, Koenma sir?" She asked, looking a little anxious. Koenma swiveled his chair so that his back was to Botan.

"...There's still been no sign of him?" He asked, already knowing the answer. He knew that if they had found even a hair from Hiei that it would probably be announced to everyone that was willing to hold still long enough to listen. He heard Botan sigh.

"I'm sorry Koenma sir, but no one has seen him since the day he killed that demon. We've had everyone watch their backs for a whole year, and we've even had people following Nana, but there's no sign of him anywhere," Botan said, unable to keep the sadness from her voice. In her mind Hiei was no longer the cut throat thief he had been before, but the small toddler holding out his hand to them, covered in ice cream.

Koenma nodded quietly, and gave her a silent dismissal. Botan nodded and left the room. Both of them thought about the little child demon, and wondered whether he was still alive now or not.

* * *

Yusuke sighed and looked outside. Winter had just begun, and a thick blanket of snowflakes had fallen outside. The temperature was somewhere around twenty degrees, and the idea of going out and searching for three demons was not a pleasant one. After a brief internal struggle, he got up and grabbed his coat. He'd head to Kuwabara's house first, and then he'd see if Kurama would help him out. 

Yusuke, after a quick good bye to his mother, headed out the door and into the frigid cold. He ran, hoping that he could make it to Kuwabara's before he got sick or something. This was horrible weather to be out in! It figured that Koenma would assign him a mission today. Yusuke turned a corner. Just a little further and-

He slipped on the ice coated sidewalk and hit the ground hard. He laid there for a second, groaning with pain, and then he heard a giggle. Yusuke opened his eyes and sat up slowly. He thought he saw a child standing a ways off, laughing at him.

_'Is that?'_ Yusuke shut his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again the child was gone. He pushed himself, cautiously, to his feet and looked around. No one was there. A small, frustrated growl managed to work its way out of Yusuke.

_'Maybe it was one of those demons... Or maybe I just hit my head too hard,'_ Yusuke thought, rubbing the back of his head. He began walking again, glancing at the place the child had been standing. There wasn't even a footprint in the snow. Yusuke sighed, and then began running again.

_'He'd be eight if he were still here,'_ Yusuke thought, running down the streets towards Kuwabara's home._ 'I wonder if he still remembers us?'_ Yusuke finally found his way to Kuwabara's and proceeded to try to pound down the door. He heard stomps coming from inside.

"YUSUKE! Quit trying to break my door down!" Kuwabara yelled as Yusuke slipped in. The teen began to shake the snow from his clothes and shiver.

"Sorry man, but it's freezing out there," Yusuke said, shivering some. "I've got a mission from Koenma and I wanted to know if-"

"No way, man! Do you remember what the last one was?" Kuwabara cried, staring at Yusuke as though he were nuts or something. After 'seeing' that child, Yusuke wasn't so sure he could say he wasn't crazy. He wasn't sure whether or not some demons could keep from leaving footprints in snow, but the thought wasn't comforting.

That laugh had been familiar, so much so that Yusuke found himself looking out the window half expecting to see a child playing outside in the snow. He wasn't there, of course.

"Yeah, I remember but even I'm not gonna refuse this one. Three demons escaped, and all of them target children," Yusuke said, waiting for Kuwabara's reactions. Kuwabara looked at Yusuke, somewhat stunned.

"You mean they eat kids? Like that thing Hiei killed?" He asked, a visible decision being reached. Yusuke smiled a little at how predictable his friend was.

"Well, they don't all look that ugly and they eat their souls, but yeah, other then that the same," Yusuke said, knowing what was now going through Kuwabara's mind. He felt a twing of guilt rise in him for playing his friend this way, but he'd need help. He knew that if Kuwabara could associate these new demons with the one that had driven Hiei away he'd help, out of guilt if nothing else.

"Alright, I'll help Uremeshi, but this is the last time," Kuwabara said, despite the fact that he had said this many times before and it was never the 'last time.' Yusuke smiled.

"Thanks buddy, I owe ya one," He said, looking back towards the door. "We'll need to get Kurama in on this one. There are three of us and three of them, it'll be a perfect match." Yusuke pulled his jacket tighter around him and, once Kuwabara had gotten his own coat on, they headed back out into the cold.

* * *

"Come on! You'll have to run faster then that if you wanna win!" 

"Wait up! I'm not that fast!"

Nana stopped and looked into the park. She had been heading home when she'd heard the words as if from a distant dream. Two children tore through the snow, laughing and playing. A girl bolted away from the boy and he told her to slow down again. She refused, and headed deeper into the park.

Nana watched them go and had a strange sense of deja vu. Something about a boy, a desk...? Nana felt the memories scatter and she sighed. No point in getting worked up now, not when she had homework and chores to get worked up over later. She began to walk and then paused. Why did it feel like something was missing? Was it just her? Probably, she had had the feeling off and on for about a year now.

She looked up at the sky and watched the snow fall for a moment, feeling as if there were a heavy fog in her mind. After a few seconds she began to walk again. She'd puzzle it out some more later, right now it was way too cold to be worrying about such things.

As she walked she noticed the girl leading the boy further and further into the park, further and further out of sight...

* * *

Kurama walked with Kuwabara and Yusuke, listening to what the spirit detective knew about the case. He had previously heard rumors about such demons, which was probably where many old wives tales had come from. Stories of shapeshifters that stole children away and ate them later, of possessed dolls that devoured the souls of children, and of witch children that led others children astray with bribery and lies. Yes, he'd heard about these demons, but most of his information was second hand at best. It was somewhat frustrating. 

"Hey, where do we start lookin' for these demons?" Kuwabara asked suddenly, breaking Kurama from his thoughts. Yusuke sighed.

"Well, I have the compass thing but we'll be tracking three of these guys, so only one of us will really know where to go," Yusuke said, pulling out the spirit compass. "So, who get's to wear it?"

"I think you should keep it Yusuke," Kurama said, smiling. "I'm confident in my skills of tracking, and Kuwabara had a very well developed spirit awareness, so I think you'll get the most use out of it."

Yusuke was quiet a moment, and after he decided that it wasn't really an insult he put the watch on. From there, everyone split up and headed in different directions. Kurama was going after the child demon, Kuwabara after the shapeshifter, and Yusuke was going after the doll. From a distance away someone watched them curiously, watching each of them walk off in their seperate directions.

Curious, the figure picked one of the detectives and began to follow them, wondering what was so concerning in such cold weather.


	14. The Boy Returns

**Note: I lied. Hiei doesn't act like a child that would break your fingers rather then kicking you. Eh, you'll find out.**

**Ah, yes, there is blood in this chapter. Much blood and cruelty. I have warned.**

Kurama didn't have to look very far before he found the demon child's trail. A boy was being loaded on a stretcher, his face vacant and eyes empty. He had been found in the back of the park, lying face down in the snow with no one else around. If he hadn't been found when he had, he probably would have died.

Kurama sighed as watched the ambulance drive away. The crowd began to disperse and Kurama turned to look into the park. He'd have to wait a little longer before heading back there and trying to pick up the scent of the demon. Not much longer, but it was long enough to give Kurama's mind time to think.

How was he going to pick this demon out of a group of humans, and how was he going to get the child to go with him? He couldn't simply grab them and pull them over his shoulder. The demon would probably kick, scream, and shout 'Not my Father' or something like that. He'd have a real problem on his hands then. Kurama sighed audibly.

"Maybe I can find it somewhere in the park. Not many people are going to be out there, so maybe..." Kurama let his near silent musing trail off and stared into the park. He could finally see the last of the spectators leaving, talking amongst themselves in hushed tones. Kurama walked into the park and began to search for clues.

It didn't take long to find the boy's footprints, since they were so much smaller then everyone else's. He also saw another set of footprints, slightly to the right of the boy's. These footprints were not quite as deep as the boys. It seemed that they may have been running, playing tag maybe? The thought was somewhat sickening. He couldn't imagine what had gone through the boy's mind when his playmate suddenly stopped being playful and devoured his soul.

He shook his head to clear the mental image of a child's terrified face. It was replaced with Nana's, her bloody eyelids closed over her eyes, screaming a horrified cry. He shook his head harder to clear it. The image faded and he sighed in relief. He didn't think he'd ever really be rid of that image, but it had been popping up less and less as time passed by.

Kurama followed the tracks back into the park. He came to a small area, well out of the way of the park's path, and stopped. This was where Hiei used to sleep before he became a child. The memories attached to the area began to surround him. Hiei glaring at him for waking him up in the middle of a nap to go on a mission. Hiei falling out of the tree soon after Botan had blown a whistle to summon him, a half dazed look on his face. Hiei, just a year or so ago, standing under the tree's branches and then turning to smile at Kurama, saying he liked this place and wanted to come back and visit it again soon. He never had gotten the chance to come back. It was less then a week later that Hiei had vanished.

Kurama forced himself to focus and stared at the child shaped impression in the snow. This must have been where the attack occurred. Kurama slowly walked around the area, looking for more clues as to where the demon had gone. He didn't see anymore footprints, but the scent of the demon was here. He inhaled deeply, trying to fix the scent in his mind so he could follow it if he needed to.

Somewhat pleasant, sweet like candies or something similar, female, and to his surprise old. He opened his eyes and looked around. The demon must have been hiding its true form and age to get to the children. It made sense. A child was much more likely to follow another child then they would an old man or woman. Kurama took another deep breath.

"What'cha doin' Fox?" A voice chirped above him, sounding both amused and curious. Kurama's breath came out in a short gasp. He **knew** that voice, and only one person had ever called him that. He looked up into the tree, but nothing was there.

"What?" Kurama muttered, scanning the area around him. Nothing, there was not a person in sight. Kurama rubbed his head, trying to convince himself it had been a memory popping up. He hadn't been here since Hiei left, so it was only natural that it would stir a few memories up in him. That had to be all it was, there was no reason for Hiei, if it had been him, to say something like that and then just run off.

He looked around again, looking for a small child he didn't expect to find but still hoped to see. After a moment Kurama began moving again, carefully sniffing the air as he went. The demon hadn't really gone that far, could it have been thinking of choosing this place for a territory? He frowned and began to run, hoping to find the demon before it claimed another child.

* * *

In another part of the park, unseen by the spectators of the previous incident, were two girls having a snowball fight. One girl wore no jacket, but didn't seem all that bothered by the cold. She scooped the snow up with her bare hand, rolled it into a ball, and threw it like a seasoned pro. The snowball nailed the other girl in the middle of her back, impact cushioned by her heavy jacket.

"Hey! That hurt!" She called over, looking more annoyed that she had been hit then anything else. The other girl giggled and stuck her tongue out, smiling.

"Sorry 'bout that, hey where do you live?" She asked, a curious look in her eyes. The other girl tried to wipe the snow from her back, angling her arms around to scratch at the stuff.

"Just a few blocks from here, why?" She asked, looking up at her newfound friend. She stopped at the look on her face. She was smiling but the smile was... cruel, as if she were planning to play some nasty trick on her.

"No reason really," She said, walking towards the now frightened girl. "I just wanted to know where I should drop off your body after I've eaten your soul."

Now the girl was really scared. She turned and started running away from the girl, but by the time she had moved here eyes away from her and onto her escape path the girl was already there. She was still smiling when she grabbed her 'friend's' arms and pulled her close. Placing her mouth less then an inch away from the frightened child's mouth and nose she inhaled mightily. The frightened girl thought she was trying to inhale her, and then suddenly began to feel weak, listless.

The demon tasted the first vapors of the girl's soul, and then inhaled it into her mouth. She swallowed it whole and dropped the empty shell onto the ground, giggling. Two children, the appetizers to a full course meal in her opinion.

She walked over to the little girl's body, kneeled over, and gave it a little push. The body shifted away and then back to where it had been. The eyes showed no reaction and seemed like blank stones. Her face was just as empty as her eyes. The girl's giggles became rib breaking laughter.

"So funny! Hey, if I tied you up by your wrists, ankles, and neck would you work like a puppet? Huh?" She asked, standing up and kicking the girl in the side. The body was lifted from the ground and tumbled back to earth a few feet away. Her expression remained unchanged. The girl began laughing so hard she doubled over.

"How cute!" She cried, finally straightening up and wiping her eyes. She looked at the little girl a final time, still smiling and emitting little giggles.

"I've got to go now, 'kay? Be sure to hurry home soon, or you'll catch a cold," she mocked, turning her back on the girl and walking away. She smiled to herself, looking up into the sky. This was a nice place to gather food. Human parents brought their children here so often, it was like a buffet! Soon they may stop bringing children, but she didn't think that would be for a while. A long while. Maybe she'd make this place her territory, maybe-

She stopped walking, catching a funny scent on the air. Was it... roses? She turned around, frowning slightly. It was the middle of winter, where would someone find roses? She saw a teen standing back where the girl was, looking straight at her. Red hair, green eyes, and a very serious look on his face... Had he seen her attack the girl? No, no one was around then. She buckled her knees and put on an expression of horror. This was nothing a little acting wouldn't cure.

"Sir!" She cried from the spot she had collapsed in, making her voice high and choked with fear. "Sir, there's a girl and she- and she-" He made a movement, as quick and as smooth as a striking snake, and she dodged it. A cut appeared on her face. She looked behind her and saw a leaf, half buried in the snow. She looked back at the boy and cursed lowly. Was he another demon? He began to pull out another leaf when she recognized him and laughed quietly.

"Just my luck, here less then a day and I run into the fox traitor, Kurama," She said, standing up and smiling at him. Kurama studied the girl. Short brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin, wearing sweatpants and a white T-shirt. She looked like any normal human girl. Except she wasn't wearing a coat in this frigid weather. The girl scooped up a handful of snow and rolled it into a ball. She began to smooth out the surface of the ball and Kurama studied the girl's energy. He frowned.

"Why are you attacking the children? With your level of energy you could easily go after adults or lesser demons. Why go after human children when you'll have to attack so many just to get a decent meal out of them?" Kurama asked. The girl looked up at him, the surface of the snowball now smooth as glass. She gave him a look as though he were stupid.

"Why? Because I like attacking children, why else?" She said, giving him a wicked smile. Kurama took a step back as he felt her begin to pour energy into the snowball. It glowed and shivered in her hands. Was she going to use it as a weapon? He got his answer soon enough.

"Hey! Let's play!" The girl said, throwing the snowball at him. Kurama dodged to the side, surprised by how quickly and accurately she could throw it. The snowball hit the tree behind him and froze, pieces of snow that had burst out becoming shrapnel shooting out in all directions. He looked back at the small girl lying on the ground behind them.

_'If I'm not careful she could be hurt... or killed,'_ Kurama thought, looking back at the demon. She was giggling and tossing another snowball up into the air. Kurama reached into his hair and removed his rose, eyeing the demon and snowball with caution.

"Hey, pay less attention to that lifeless shell and more attention to me, your opponent!" She said, throwing the new snowball at him. Kurama dodged again, careful to stay well away from the shards that appeared when the snowball hit the ground and burst. He flicked his wrist and channeled energy into the rose, turning it into a whip. The demon scooped more snow up, rolled it, smoothed it, and channeled her energy into it.

"Stop dodging! It makes it harder for me to hit you!" The demon hissed, looking a little less amused now. She began to throw the snowball, and Kurama lashed out at it with his rose whip. The snowball burst before it even left the girl's hand. He heard her scream and when the cloud of ice had passed he saw her standing there, holding her right hand close to her body.

"That... was a dirty trick!" She cried, her right hand full of slivers of ice and snow. It oozed blood down her hand, around her wrist, and down to her elbow where it dripped, slowly, onto the snow. Kurama looked up to her face and suppressed a gasp.

_'So, this is her true form,'_ He thought, staring at the demon's unveiled face. The hair was no longer brown and straight, it was shaggy and white. Her eyes had turned black, and her face looked... ancient for lack of a better word. She pulled a piece of ice out of her hand and threw it to the ground.

"Dirty trick! Dirty trick!" She shrieked, her voice now like some ancient lizards rather then a sweet child's. She stomped her foot and glared at Kurama, like some oddly aged child having a tantrum. She pulled out another shard and held it out like some small blade. "You'll pay for that!" She cried.

Kurama struck out again at the demon, and this time she dodged to one side, throwing the small ice shard at him as she did so. She shard grazed Kurama's arm, cutting cloth and skin. He winced slightly, but it wasn't that bad. If she started throwing those snowball again though...

The demon quickly scooped up a small amount of the snow on the ground and placed it in her mouth. It took only a moment to melt it, and then she spit it out at Kurama. Tiny needles of ice flew from her mouth. Kurama began to dodge and then stopped. If he moved, the little girl would be... He looked behind him and saw her lying there, motionless, pale. He braced himself for the blow.

One needle pierced his already cut arm, the thin shard of ice nearly passing completely through. Blood began to drip down his arm. The next one pierced his shoulder and stuck out oddly, like a needle used to pierce a voodoo doll. Another stuck out of his left side, very nearly poking a hole in the organs that laid beneath his belly. The last one embedded itself in his leg, this one sticking out either side of his thigh. It had missed the bone, luckily.

Kurama took a quick glance behind him and, seeing the small girl safe and sound, looked back at the demon. He'd need to finish this, quickly. Kurama rose the whip again and cracked it at the demon. She tried to dodge, but this time he snapped it back and caught her in the side. She screeched and tried to run, but Kurama caught her with the whip again. Her arms split open and bled. She collapsed to her knees in the snow, gasping in pain.

_'He's too strong!'_ She thought, watching him pull his arm back to attack her again. _'I can't beat him, not yet anyways. I need to eat more, to get stronger... But right now I just need to get away.'_ She reached for her veil, the power that allowed her to take the appearance of children. Right now, she needed the appearance of a specific child... She visualized the face and changed.

Kurama's whip had almost reached her when the change was complete, and what he saw made him jerk his arm back and away from her. She looked at him, and smiled.

Red eyes, black hair, pale skin, a thin white line on the forehead. Kurama stared and wondered how she had known Hiei's child form. Had news of the change really made it that far in Spirit World? Maybe, or maybe she had been watching them. But why? The girl, now Hiei's doppelganger, slowly stood up holding her arms.

"That was close," she murmured, studying Kurama's stricken face. She grinned widely at him, and gave a small chuckle. "What's the matter? Can't strike your ward?" She asked, taking a small step away from him. Kurama gave her a look of pure hate and pulled his arm back again. The demon jumped backwards and giggled.

"If I'd known that this form would bother you so much, I'd have taken it sooner," She said, still slowly retreating. "Oh well, I can't play anymore, so maybe I'll see you again soon. I promise I'll play longer then. B'bye" She turned and ran, hearing Kurama begin to pursue her and then stop. He'd need to take care of that girl of course, so she had a little extra time to get away. She vanished into the snowy park.

* * *

A short distance away, the demon stopped and dropped her disguise, face twisted in pain. She didn't think that the form would have such an affect on the fox, but it had and she was glad that it had. She scooped up some snow and placed it on the wounds in her arms. The snow stung horribly, but after a few moment the bleeding slowed to a stop. She did the same with her side, and when she was finished she collapsed in the snow.

At least her needles would hurt him badly. Besides the blood loss, the ice would slowly freeze the surrounding tissue and kill it. She supposed he could save the areas so long as he was willing to pull or melt the needles out, but the pain would still be unimaginable. It was little comfort compared to her own wounds, which may have stopped bleeding but still hurt horribly. She'd make him pay next time she saw him.

She giggled lightly. Maybe she'd take the form of that boy, the one she had seen around Kurama so often. At least until a year ago she had seen him around. She wondered what had happened to him. Maybe he had died?

"No matter," she said, stretching and yawning. "All that matters is how I can use that form against that stupid fox. I wonder if he could stand to cut him up the way he cut me up..." She smiled and slowly closed her eyes, then opened them back up again. What was this feeling? It was like she was being watched or something. She sat up and saw the source of her discomfort. A small child was approaching where she was, less then twenty feet away. She quickly regained the appearance of the girl she had been earlier.

Had he seen her..? No, if he had he would have stayed away. She smiled. It was her lucky day, three children, three souls. She began to call out, and stopped.

Why were they wearing that coat? It was so big, like something an adult would wear. It hung down to midway between the child's ankles and knees and the hood hung down over their eyes. She frowned, feeling uneasy. The child stopped walking and pulled the sleeves of the coat up to expose their hands. The right arm and hand was covered in bandages, as though they may have been badly hurt at one point. Everything seemed to signal danger, but she didn't know why.

"Hey! Wanna play?" She managed to call out, despite her misgivings. A meal was a meal, no matter how oddly packaged it came. She saw the child smile beneath the hood.

"Play? Sure, I'll play with you," the child said, tilting their head up slightly. The voice was male, and she could just barely see their eyes, but it was so dark under there she couldn't make out their color. She shivered a little. Why was she so scared?

"Mind if I ask a few questions first?" The boy asked, walking towards her again. She took a step back away from him, shivering. "Like what are you doing in my territory?"

She grit her teeth and scooped snow into her mouth. She spit it out at him and thought she saw needles pierce the child... until an empty coat tumbled to the ground, riddled with holes. She took a fearful step back. _'Where is he?! Where is he?!'_ Something sharp pierced her back, and her legs folded beneath her. She felt something being pulled out and her legs went numb.

"That wasn't very nice," the boy said, walking around so that he was back in her line of sight. The boy kneeled down so they were face to face and she gasped. It was that child that had spent so much time with the fox! He smiled at her, almost playfully, but it did nothing to warm his cold eyes. "I asked you a question, so it's polite if you'd please answer."

She tried to stand, to kick out at this child, but discovered that her legs would not obey her. _'Has... has he cut my spine?'_ She thought, horrified. She tried to pull herself away from him until he placed the sword against her throat. She gasped, eyes wide with fear.

"I-I was thinking that this place could be my territory! I didn't know it was your territory!" She cried, looking around wildly. No escape, no where to go.

"That's better," the boy said, removing the blade from her neck. She let out a short sigh of relief, and then felt the cold metal sink into her shoulder. She screamed and released her disguise in the pain. The boy giggled.

"Pop quiz funny face, I hope you studied because I don't remove points," He said, holding the hilt of the sword and twisting a little. Her screams began anew. "I might find something else to remove though."

* * *

Several hours later the interrogation was done and the child removed the sword from the rounded hole in the demon's shoulder. The demon cried out weakly, blood pouring from the wound. It flowed sluggishly and steamed slightly. He didn't care, he had other things to worry about.

_'Demons that feed on the souls of children, huh? That could be bad for me,'_ He thought, looking up from the suffering demon and focusing on the falling snow. It turned the red snow a light pink beneath the new blanket it was forming. He felt a memory creeping up on him and shook it away.

"Are you going... to kill me?" The demon asked, staring at the red snow. He blinked and looked back at her. _'Oh yeah...'_

"Well, I would let you live but you have something that belongs to someone else," He answered, looking at the demon. She stared at him with wide eyes. "If I remember right, it take around twenty four to forty eight hours to digest a soul, right? Well, it's only been about four, so I think they should be fine."

He rose his hand up towards the demon and saw her pupils contract. Her breathing stopped. Her heart was pounding. He smiled a little.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you die quickly. If you scream anymore then you already have, then you'll attract others," flames began to appear around the boy's hand. The demon stared, her heart pounding harder and sweat beginning to appear on her face and palms. She was going to die. She knew it, even without this child saying it. She opened her mouth slowly.

"W-Who are you? What kind of child does this?" She asked, her face white as the snow she sat on. The boy tilted his head to the side slightly.

"Child? No, you're mistaken. There's no child here, just me. Just Hiei." The flames roared and engulfed the demon. She shrieked for a moment and then she fell silent. Hiei lowered his hand and then felt something strike through him. Not a blade, or cold, but a feeling. He grit his teeth for a moment, and then relaxed as he felt it pass. He watched two small souls float out of the flames and then shoot out in separate directions.

He walked away, confident the flames would destroy any evidence of the demon and that the souls would find their bodies. They always did. He felt the strike again, softer and far more distant, but still there. Would he always be divided? He shook his head and kept walking. He picked up the coat and pulled it on. His heart pounded in his thin chest.

He needed to hunt soon, but there was so little to hunt here in this area of the Human World, especially in winter. He looked back at the flames one last time. The body was burning, and sending a sickly sweet smell into the air. He recognized the smell from his dreams when he was younger. Burning flesh. The thought came to him that he could eat the demon, but he dismissed it instantly. He started walking again.

_'I may act like a monster, I may treat other people like I'm a monster, but I **won't** eat like one,'_ he thought silently. With those thoughts he left the burning corpse and went to search for food.


	15. The Two Demons

**Note: Just to set everyone straight, I'm not really planning any of this, unless sitting there for three seconds for an idea to smack you in the face like a tuna counts as planning :) Anyways... The old woman may appear again near the end of the story, not quite sure yet.**

**Ah, I might scrap this page later, we'll see. I really think it sucks...**

Yusuke saw one of the energies on his compass suddenly blink out of existence and smiled. _'Good job, you guys. One down, two to go.'_ Yusuke looked around the store, perplexed. He had been searching through these things for hours, but no cigar. He sighed, with a feeling of utter defeat when he noticed something. A little girl, watching eagerly as he father paid for a porcelain doll. The doll had straight black hair, fair skin, and black eyes...

* * *

Hunting in the winter months was tough, especially in the cities of the Human World. Sometimes he could get something that was decent sized, but normally he had to make due with some squirrel or something else that had been hibernating. The city was just too big to accommodate something else for a meal, and for some reason he couldn't bring himself to kill a cat or dog for food. It just seemed... wrong. Every time he tried he kept seeing Kuwabara's stupid cat in the back of his mind and couldn't do it. 

Hiei looked out of the alley way, studying people who walked past. He spied an elderly woman walking along with a rather nice purse and stepped out. He walked slowly towards her, and then ran slowly, eyes fixed on the bag. After a few moments he seemed to fade from sight and then he reappeared up the street with his hands in his pockets. He felt oddly guilty for what he had done, and even though he told himself he needed the money more then her, he couldn't convince himself of it.

_'Curse that hypocrite fox,'_ he thought, slowing down and staring at the ground. He removed his hand from his pocket and stared at the money that was there. He could feel a slow, steady struggle begin to take place inside of him.

_'Go give it back! You're not suppose to steal from other people, its wrong!' _

_'Who cares? It's not like I took her rings or something, she can get more money.' _

_'But it's still wrong! What if she -doesn't- have anymore money? Then she wouldn't be able to get anything to eat, and it would be our fault!' _

_'She's doing better then us in case you didn't notice!'_

He thought he had won the fight, until he found himself walking back to the old woman, head down like a child expecting a whipping. He stood there for a long moment, waiting to be noticed. When she did look at him, he held out the hand that had the money in it. He thought he saw her eyes widen a little.

"I-I took this from you, a little while back and..." Hiei struggled to say the next few words, "and I'm really sorry."

The old woman took the money from him and began to count it, an almost curious expression on her face. Hiei turned and began walking away, his stomach aching but the guilty feeling gone. Thank goodness.

"Young man." Hiei turned and saw the old woman walking up to him. He began to feel around in his pockets, wondering if he hadn't given her everything. She reached forward and took his hand, withdrawing it from his pocket, and turned it palm up. Hiei felt her press something there, close his hand over it, and turn it palm down. She smiled at him.

"It's so rare to find children with a sense of real honor around them," She said, stroking back his hair with long fingers. Hiei looked up into her eyes and saw himself reflected in them. Skinny, weak looking, unattractive, mangy, did she see that? Why was she looking at him as though he were something special? Important? Maybe she couldn't see it, she was so old. The woman released him and began to walk away, and Hiei decided to take a look at what she had given him. Probably a hard candy or something.

He opened his fist and gasped. He stared down at the money in his hand, and then began to run to the old woman without thinking. Maybe she was senile or something, because she certainly hadn't meant to give him this!

"Ma'am!" The old woman stopped and looked at him as he ran up. He held out his hand with the money. "I think you made a mistake! You gave me-"

"Some of the money you stole?" She asked, smiling at him. Hiei stopped, surprised, and for some reason this made the old woman laugh. She set her hand on top of his head and gently ruffled his hair.

"Just consider it a reward for being so honest, okay?" She said to the now mute little demon. Hiei managed a nod, still shocked, and the woman leaned over and kissed his hair. He felt the light pressure on his head and shut his eyes, feeling another sort of pressure building in his chest and throat.

_'I won't do it, I won't cry. I won't.'_ The old woman began to walk away and Hiei watched her go. He turned his head and looked into a store window, seeing his reflection there. It looked the same as the one he had seen in that old woman's eyes. He put the money in his pocket and turned to face the window. His eyes were bewildered and he couldn't see the monster his heart claimed he was for a few moments. The boy there looked familiar, but he couldn't place him.

_'Honest?'_

* * *

"Waaah! Daddy!" 

"Uh! Sorry kid!" Yusuke called back, running full steam in the other direction. The doll under his arm seemed to almost pulse with energy. He had found it! The doll demon!

_'This would be much better news if I didn't think that now I was going to be picked up for shoplifting!'_ He thought, turning a corner and barely managing to stay on his feet as he hit a patch of ice. He skidded slightly and then continued running. The doll under his arm seemed to shift slightly in his grip, but dolls didn't move, did they?

_'Normally they're not possessed by soul gulping demons either!'_ Yusuke thought, slowing down and looking at the doll. It seemed to look very life like, much more so then the artist that had made it intended. The eyes, a pure black, seemed to focus on him and radiate with hate. Yusuke felt odd looking at it, weak and cold. He shook his head.

"Creepy doll," Yusuke muttered, grabbing its feet and lifting it in the air. He began to swing it downward, and felt something twisting around his wrists. He looked up and saw the dolls black hair seemingly growing out of control and binding his wrists. The head twisted around to look at him, and though the lips never moved he could see the smile in its eyes.

"Oh crud," Yusuke grumbled, trying to untangle his arms from the ropes of hair. He felt the hair slipping further and further down his arms, curling itself into a tiny network of knots as it went. Yusuke struggled and twisted himself away from the doll, but nothing seemed to work.

The hair slithered into his shirt and wrapped itself around his chest, squeezing him so tightly he lost his breath for a moment. He could feel it working its way to his neck, and he knew that once it reached his neck he wouldn't be able to get it off. Yusuke ripped his arms free with a cry of frustration, and heard an answering cry of pain from somewhere inside the doll.

The doll hung in the air, the hair waving like some odd sort of tentacle. He could hear the short, ragged breaths coming from inside it, and it again seemed to pulse. Yusuke took a step back from it.

"**Really** creepy doll," He amended, raising his hand up with his finger pointing at the thing. The doll shivered and suddenly collapsed, its head cracking on the ground. Yusuke blinked and stared at it. The hair was shorter again and the eyes, or what was left of them, had turned blue. Yusuke poked at the doll experimentally with his foot, and a few shard shifted and fell inside its head.

_'Did it run away or something?'_ Yusuke thought, looking around. He felt his cell phone begin to vibrate and pulled it out. He flipped it open and held it up to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Yusuke." It was Kurama. Yusuke turned to look at the shattered doll. He prodded it some more and wished Kurama was -there- so that he might have half a clue as to where the demon had gone.

"Hey Kurama, what's up?" He said, smiling slightly. "How's your demon hunt going?"

"The demon I was tracking is dead," Kurama answered, sounding slightly bothered. Yusuke glanced at the cell phone he had to his ear, confused. Why did he sound like he may have failed a test or something?

"Yeah, why do you not sound like your jumping for joy then? That was kind of the point of this mission I think," Yusuke said, trying to lighten the mood. Kurama's next words made him crash down to earth.

"I didn't kill her. She'd been burned to death in the park, sometime while I was helping one of the children she attacked." Yusuke stared at the doll, not really seeing it but seeing the demon in the statue building with the hole in its back and a broken wrist. It was just like back then. Everything had been quiet for a little while, and then it was like he snapped.

He wasn't sure Hiei had just snapped this time though. This seemed more like... the old Hiei. The thief that had been forced to work with the rest of them until everyone had slowly accepted each other as friends. Yusuke let out an audible sigh.

"Are you sure it's.."

"There's no doubt about it. I could still pick up his scent from the area, the snow hasn't covered it yet."

Yusuke stood there, feeling slightly torn. It had been a year since he'd last seen the child demon, and they had assumed he'd been killed by himself or something else. Why else wouldn't he have come home? He had played different reasons and scenarios through his head over and over again, trying to figure out why he wouldn't have returned home.

Even the idea of him avoiding them because he'd regained his memory didn't really fly. Wouldn't he have wanted to at least beat Kuwabara to a bloody pulp before taking off? It didn't make sense to him, at all. Unless Hiei had decided he didn't want to be around them anymore, that he didn't want to return home.

"Do you think you can track him from there?" Yusuke asked, walking away from the shattered remains of the doll. He looked at his compass and saw the demon had moved some distance away. Just great.

"I think so, but I'm not sure for how far. It's always been difficult to stay on his trail when he doesn't want to be found," Kurama answered.

"Just try to figure out where he might be going, that way we might be able to find him once this is over," Yusuke said, following the point on his compass. "If you can't do that then... then go help Kuwabara with his demon. If I know him he'll probably bite off more then he can chew."

"Alright Yusuke, good bye." The call ended and Yusuke stuck it back in his pocket. He began to run.

* * *

"Oh man! Why'd I have to get stuck with the thing that can turn into who knows what?!" Kuwabara yelled, running down the alley. Close on his heels was a large Doberman, barking and growling at it went. Just moments before the Doberman had been a kitten, which had been enticing a child into playing with it. It had almost devoured the child's soul... Until Kuwabara had walked up and hugged it of course. It had quickly become a very mad demon dog that seemed bent on ripping off Kuwabara's arms and legs. 

"Grrr, enough is enough!" Kuwabara finally said, turning around and holding out his hands. "Spirit Sword!"

The Doberman paused for a moment, its eyes taking in the sword, and then it charged again. Kuwabara grinned and held his sword tightly in his hand, watching the Doberman's fast approach. The dog lunged and Kuwabara swung. He grinned, expecting to feel the blow connect, and the dog shifted into a rat which he narrowly missed.

The rat landed on Kuwabara and proceeded to scratch and bite every inch of him it could reach. Kuwabara cried out in pain and seized the small rodent, throwing it as far and as hard as he could. The rat landed easily on its feet and began to charge at him again. Kuwabara stumbled back, staring nervously at the rat which seemed to be deciding on a new form.

"I am so screwed..."

**Note: I apologize for the shortness, but I'm suppose to be trying to get a halfway decent sleeping schedule going, since this fall asleep and noon, wake up at 5 and then stay awake until noon the next day thing isn't going to fly with college coming up. **

**...Anyways! Any opinions on what should happen to Kuwabara?**


	16. The Demon

**Note: ...Oh. My. Goodness. I'm upright and conscious, and it's daylight out O.O**

One strike. Two strikes. Three strikes. By the time they'd reached the fourth there was a lot of blood seeping into Kuwabara's jacket and shirt. He stumbled back and swung at the shifter, managing to cut just a few hairs from its form before it shifted again to avoid his attack.

"Stop that! It makes it really hard to hit you!" Kuwabara yelled, watching it assume the form of a mangy cat to attack him again. Four horizontal lines appeared on his arms, making Kuwabara cry out.

'I forgot how much that hurt, Eichi doesn't do that anymore,' He thought, covering the new scratches and eyeing the shifter. If moved too fast for him to hit with his sword, but maybe... It lunged again.

"Spirit Shuriken!" He cried out, as small bolts of something like his spirit sword shot out and filled the alley. The shifted tried to dodge and was pierced by several of the blades. It flew back and hit the ground where it twitched and then went still. Kuwabara began to laugh and then winced, doubling over and holding his sides. A small amount of blood poured out of his mouth and onto the ground.

"Oh man..."

"Kuwabara!" Kuwabara looked up and saw Kurama, much to his relief, heading his way. He waved at him, offering a little smile and a thumbs up which Kurama answered with a smile. He ran over and quickly pulled Kuwabara's arm over his neck, supporting his weight and letting his relax a little.

"Got him," Kuwabara said as Kurama began to lead him out of the alley. "Thought he could be the best of me, but I showed him."

"Kuwabara, you might want to refrain from talking so I can take care of these wounds," Kurama said, sounding both amused and frustrated at the same time. Kuwabara looked at the kitsune's face and figured he might have lost the trail of his demon. He was only half right. As Kurama bound his wounds he explained everything: The burned remains of the demon, Hiei's scent, and how he had lost it while heading deeper and deeper into the city. Kuwabara was silent until he finished speaking.

"So he's still alive out there? It's not some kind of mistake?" He asked, looking at the ground as he waited for an answer. He didn't really look mad, just concerned.

"It's not a mistake, we all spent a lot of time with him before he... left. I know his scent, it was him," Kurama answered, finding a spot to sit down and settling there. He looked up at the sky and watched the snow fall, trying to figure out why Hiei wouldn't want to come back. It was fairly obvious now that he didn't want to come home, but why? It just didn't make sense.

"...Well let's go looking for him," Kuwabara said, standing up and wincing slightly, his hand over his side. Kurama stood up as well, holding up his hands in case Kuwabara suddenly decided to collapse. He shook his head.

"You should go home and rest, I'll track Hiei. It'll go faster that way-" Kuwabara cut him off with something close to a glare. He shook his head sharply and began to walk.

"No way, I'm going to. When he turned into a child again, I told him I'd help raise him until he grew up again. I'm not going to go back on that just because he's being temperamental and doesn't want to see us," Kuwabara said, stumbling along. Kurama raised his hands up slightly in a position of mock surrender before following. There was no point arguing with him right now, or ever really. He had made up his mind, and there was no changing that.

* * *

_"What are you doing?" Hiei asked Nana, watching her kiss the little Taiyaki fish and then begin to devour it from the head to the tail. She looked at him with obvious confusion. She chewed for a second and then swallowed before talking. _

_"What does it look like? I'm eating taiyaki," She answered, taking another large bite out of the fish shaped cake. Hiei continued to look at her like she was incredibly odd. _

_"But why'd you kiss it? And why eat it from the head? That means you'll leave the part without the bean paste for last!" Hiei said, having already taken a large bite out of the tail of the cake. Nana now looked at him like he was incredibly odd. _

_"Because it's fun to eat it that way! Try it!" She said, smiling with a slightly sly look on her face. "If you kiss yours, I won't mooch off your ice cream for a week." _

_Hiei gave her a look and then stared at the taiyaki in his hands. He turned it so it faced him and tried to swallow his pride. All he had to do was kiss the darn thing, and then he could have his ice cream to himself for a week without worrying about Nana asking for licks. _

_He leaned forward slightly, lips puckered, then stopped. Nana was staring at him with such wide eyes that he felt weird, like he must have had something stuck to his face besides his usual bandage. He felt his face going red and straightened up suddenly._

_"Stop watching me! It's embarrassing!" He yelled, making Nana burst out in rib breaking laughter. He turned his cake back around and glared at it, feeling beyond embarrassed and humiliated. Nana finally subdued herself into giggles. _

_"You're such a sissy, Hiei," She said, taking another large bite out of the taiyaki. Hiei glowered and finally directed his glare at her. _

_"I am not! It's just so stupid!" He yelled, making Nana burst into another fit of giggles and laughs. People stopped to watch them as they walked past their bench, the sight of a giggling girl and angry flushed boy being one of the most interesting things in the park to see. Nana reached over and tried to hug Hiei, but he shrugged out of her grip and took another large bite of his own taiyaki. Nana didn't seem to mind at all. _

_"Hey Hiei," She said, as if she had not just greatly insulted his pride. "We got a new game at my house, wanna come over and play it with me?" _

_"Sure," Hiei answered, albeit grudgingly. She smiled and they continued eating their little fish shaped cakes on the park bench._

* * *

Hiei stared at the taiyaki in his hands, wondering why he had gotten it and why he was sitting on that bench again. The memory had hit him so hard he had actually felt the sun from the day on his back, though there was no obvious sunlight shining today. He had used his money to head to the nearest store and buy some food: rice balls, wheat crackers, some soup, an apple, and the taiyaki.

He couldn't really recall why he had gotten it, other then the fact that he did like the food. He sighed and placed the taiyaki back in the little shopping bag, then reached for a rice ball. He took one bite and winced slightly, his canines aching horribly. He swallowed and opened his mouth wide, wiggling one of the painful spots slightly with his tongue. It moved slightly and he groaned.

"Just what I need..." He grumbled, taking another careful bite with the back of his teeth and chewing. He settled back onto the bench, wondering why these memories meant so much when he had only spent a few years with his friends as family and had only known Nana a week. He finished the rice ball quickly, feeling the food settle like a lump in the bottom of his stomach. He squirmed uncomfortably until the food settled there and then pulled out a wheat cracker.

_'...I wonder if they all hate me yet... probably. I left everyone there without saying anything and I scared Nana half to death. Kurama's probably wiped her memory by now, so she won't remember me,'_ He thought, chewing on the cracker. He sat back and tried to finish the cracker, wondering what he was going to do now.

It would make the most sense to go back to Spirit World and live there for the rest of his life, away from his friends and family. That way he wouldn't get pulled into stupid missions, have to deal with Kuwabara, or get dragged to some stupid human celebration by Kurama. He wouldn't need to worry about avoiding humans all the time, or about hiding his powers as a demon. Everything would be much better if he could make it to the Spirit World. All he had to do was convince himself of it and go, but it was so hard to do for some reason. He placed the rest of his food in the bag and curled up on the bench, yawning. He'd probably feel better after a nice long nap, he usually did anyway. Maybe he was just stressed. Maybe it was the lack of food.

Maybe he had been around humans too much...

* * *

Yusuke continued to track the doll demon, feeling steadily more confident as he watched another energy blink out of existence on his compass. The shape shifter must have been taken down already. The sheer speed with which these things were going down was making him feel slow and somewhat useless. After all, wasn't he the detective here?

He sighed and looked up at the sky. It was getting dark, and he wouldn't be able to wander around these streets for much longer. Sooner or later the shops were going to start closing, and he'd be asked to head home. Yusuke took one last look at the compass and frowned. Too far away, he would never make it there in time. After a long moment of inner conflict he started home.

In another part of the city, Kuwabara and Kurama were also heading home with defeat weighing heavily upon their heads.

* * *

"Torrianse, torrianse, koko wa doko nohosomichi jya, tenji-sama no hosomichi jya..." Nana sang softly as she walked to school. Today was her seventh birthday, but she didn't really feel seven. She felt like she was still six, and she was glad that she still felt six, especially with how her Dad kept complaining about getting old. She loved being young!

She grinned and ran up to the park entrance, staring at how beautiful and white everything was. Snow always made things look wonderful, as if some blanket had been placed over everything to hide the ugliness that had been there before. She took a single step towards the path leading into the park, and then began to run.

If she hurried, she could go to her favorite spot in the park and still make it to school on time. Even if she was late though, it wasn't like anyone was going to get mad at her. Not on her birthday anyway. She grinned widely as she ran, feeling the cold bite her nose and nip her cheeks. She didn't really want to go to school, she wanted to stay there all day and play with the other kids, but her Daddy wouldn't let her.

Not after those two kids were found there anyways. She hurried along, humming gently as she went. She was heading towards he favorite bench.

_Note: Someone has to find Hiei, anyone have any preferences on who? Suggestions and such for upcoming chapters much appreciated :)_


	17. The Lost Boy

**Note: Ahhhh! I'm sorry! Hiei wants to go to Makai ; Oh dear, maybe I should stick to writing at 5 A.M...**

**Inner Fangirl: You messed up then too... AH! LOOKIT THE CHIBI-**

**Me: -Cracks the evil beast in the head- ...Anyways.**

Nana gazed at her favorite bench, seeing the human shaped outline of wood where the snow should have been. She frowned, biting her thumb nervously as she silently measured the outline. It was about the same size as her, though it did seem much wider then herself.

_'Did... Did someone sleep out here while it was snowing?'_ She wondered, feeling terribly worried suddenly. _'If there was then it had to have been a kid, but then... wouldn't they have died? It was so cold last night...'_ She slowly reached out a hand and laid her bare fingers on the wood. Still slightly warm, whoever had been here hadn't left long ago. She slowly withdrew her fingers and took a step away from the bench to look around.

There were no other tracks in the snow beside her own, which led only to the bench, not away from it. She chewed hard on her finger, scared and confused. If someone had been there, just seconds ago, then where were they now and how had they left so quickly without leaving tracks behind? She backed up slightly, now clutching the front of her jacket. She was scared and... sad for some reason.

She stood there for a long time, feeling something playing around the corner of her mind but being unable to identify it. Like a word on the tip of her tongue that stayed just out of reach. She kept reaching for it, but whatever it was never came to her. After a short time of struggling with herself, she suddenly realized how bright it was outside now. She turned and ran from the park.

"Oh no! Teacher's gonna kill me if I'm late!"

* * *

Hiei watched Nana run from the park, yelling something in a high pitched voice that must have meant she had suddenly become very distressed about something. He felt himself begin to giggle. She just looked so ridiculous, it was hilarious! As soon as she was well out of sight, and then he laughed until his sides ached.

When the laughter subsided he hopped down from his hiding place and then walked back to the bench. He sat down again on the bench and stared up at the sky. Clear and sunny today, no snow fell from the clouds today. He smiled a little, feeling the sun shine on his hair and begin to warm his head. From his coat pocket he withdrew his food, eyeing it carefully. He took the soup container and opened it carefully, holding the container between his hands.

Slowly, the soup began to boil and steam in his hands. After a moment of bubbling he stopped the heat and slowly took a sip of the liquid. He winced sharply, burning his mouth and leaving himself temporarily without a sense of taste. He waited a few more moments and then continued to sip the soup. It was weird, getting your tongue burnt by hot soup but being able to control the fires of the demon and human worlds. Kinda humiliating really, if you really thought about it.

He emptied the container of soup and set it down beside him, reaching now for the apple he had. He hoped that it hadn't frozen any while he had slept, his teeth were still very sensitive and hurt if he bit things. He suspected he could handle an apple, but a frozen one would probably be a stretch. He began to wipe it clean and then felt a funny tingle. He looked around for a moment before returning to the apple.

He finally bit into the apple and felt a sharp pain jolt his head. He cried out, jerking the apple away from his mouth and feeling another sharp pain. There was blood staining the apple, turning the meat from white to red. He had the strange urge to start crying, but he thought swallowing a few times might help.

He swallowed once, and choked. Blood had been filling his mouth as he had struggled against his urge to cry and now he was swallowing large mouthfuls of the stuff. He coughed and spit some more of it out, staining his lips red and making it trail from his mouth. He felt himself begin to panic a little and a funny sound escaped him.

He kept telling himself to calm back down, but it wasn't working. He kept spitting out the blood, staining his coat and face. He began to run away, hoping to find a place where he could get some water and wash out his mouth. The taste of blood was making him feel sick, and the smell just seemed to amplify the taste of it. He left the rest of his food there as he headed away.

* * *

Kurama was heading to the park, passing by a frantic Nana on his way there. She gave him an odd look as she ran past, as though she thought she might know him. He dismissed it quickly. Nana had only known them for a week, and after her 'incident' he didn't think that she would remember anything. She would want to forget everything about them, he suspected, so his herbal mixture was really just something to help her along. Humans had an odd sort of self protection, forgetting things that threatened them when it became too much. Surely Nana would want to forget such a thing, right?

He kept walking, hoping Nana had really forgotten everything and that he could find some trace of Hiei at the park. If he could find anything, anything at all, he was sure he could find a way to track him. He arrived at the park and continued walking, now towards Hiei's favored tree, and then stopped. What was that smell? It was very faint but...

He followed the smell to a bench, one he could remember Nana and Hiei sitting at often a year ago, and saw blood. It stained the snow, part of the bench, and an apple just bitten into. It was fairly fresh, and the scent was so strong that for a moment it was overwhelming. It was definitely Hiei's blood, he had smelled it often as Hiei had 'grown up,' when he had scraped his knees and cut his fingers. He steeled his nerves and picked up the apple to get a better smell.

He blinked as he noticed something odd about the bite mark, specifically two odd white marks in it. He carefully began to scratch at the mark and something small fell out, a tooth. He almost laughed with relief. Hiei must have bit into the apple and lost both of his canines in it, which explained all the blood. One lost tooth would bleed a lot for a while, but two must have been horrible.

He looked around and saw droplets of blood leading a distance away. Maybe he wouldn't need to track him by scent all the way, depending on how long he was going to bleed for. He began to follow the drops leading away, hoping he wouldn't stop bleeding long enough for him to find him.

* * *

Hiei sat in the snow, rubbing his hands in the stuff in an attempt to clean himself. He still felt shaky and ill, but the bleeding had stopped a while ago and that made him feel better. He could still taste the bittersweet, coppery stuff on his tongue but at least he wasn't swallowing the stuff anymore. He pulled his hands out of the snow, raw and red from the scrubbing, but clean. He took a deep breath and prepared to clean his face.

"Hiei!" He froze with his hands full of melting snow, unable to move. He knew that voice and everything was telling him to run away, but he just couldn't move. He finally felt a warm hand on his back, making him look up slightly. Kurama.

"Hiei, what happened to your hands?" He asked, noticing the deep red marks across his hands and wrists. Hiei's paralysis finally broke and he tried to make a run for it, but he only managed to stand up before he felt Kurama lock his arms around him in a vice-like grip. His attempts to flee turned into a desperate struggle as he screamed and kicked like a terrified child.

"Hiei calm down!" He yelled as the small body twisted, jerked, and struggled within his grip. Hiei began to cry for him to let him go, and Kurama just tightened his grip on the screaming child and refused.

_'Why isn't he letting me go?! Let me go! Let me go!'_ Hiei silently cried out, struggling harder. He hated his body, how small it was and how weak it was. If he were bigger he could get away from Kurama and escape. If he were bigger he wouldn't be so confused by these childish fears and feelings...

"Let me go! Let me go!" It took a very long time before he stopped struggling, and by then it was only because he felt so tired. He felt Kurama pick him up and begin to carry him. He was talking, but it was all very far away. He kept his eyes shut and ignored him. He didn't understand why Kurama was helping him, it didn't make sense.

_'Why don't you hate me?...'_

* * *

"Happy birthday, Nana!"

"Happy birthday!"

A party horn was blown, someone threw confetti, and Nana giggled happily. Her mother gently settled her cake in front of her, smiling gently. Nana, without being told, made her wish and blew out her candles. Her family clapped around her, but she just couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. Something, or maybe someone...?

She forced a smile as her father passed her a present, which she took with a quick thank you. She quietly opened the present, unwrapping a bear from inside the box and paper. It had soft brown fur, a tan belly, and black eyes. She smiled at her grandmother, who smiled back.

"Grammy, I'm too old for bears now. I'm seven," She said, absent mindedly stroking the bear's fur. Her grandmother had a slight twinkle in her eyes.

"Oh I know dear, but humor an old woman would you? I enjoy thinking I have a young granddaughter," She said, chuckling softly. Nana nodded and studied the bear a little more. It was very cuddly, and very soft, but it just felt so weird. She didn't know how to describe it other then wrong. Very wrong. She frowned and set the bear beside her, smiling at everyone else.

She took her piece of cake and she began to eat. Slowly, very slowly, the feeling the bear gave her began to go away and she pulled it onto her lap. She never noticed how the eyes seemed to shine even though the light never hit them...

* * *

Kuwabara watched the small child sleep, his face a little white still and his hands scratched from the snow. He looked like he had lost some weight since he'd been gone, but he still didn't really look any older. The only big difference was that his scar was now a jagan again and his face looked odd for some reason. He hadn't woken up since Kurama brought him to Genkai's temple, at least according to Yukina and Genkai. He could still remember getting the call.

_"Kazuma, Hiei's back, Kurama found him!"_

_"Really?! Well, how is he? Is he okay?"_

_"I think so but... Kazuma, Hiei just doesn't look the same anymore. His eye is back and he just looks so hard..."_

He hadn't really believed it at first, but now seeing him lying there asleep he had to reconsider what Yukina had said. He reached over and put his hand on Hiei's head, noticing how long and spiky it had grown while he had been gone. His hair was still slightly cool from the snow outdoors, but quickly growing warmer. He began to quietly brush the child's hair out of his eyes.

Hiei made a sound of discontent and pulled the covers over his head with a small sigh. Kuwabara smiled a little and stood up, leaving the room which was once again Hiei's room. As he closed the door and left, Hiei uncovered his head and stared at the door with a slightly bored look. He sat up and pushed his covers off, swinging his legs over the side and hopping down. He headed to the window and pushed it open, ready to climb out, and stopped.

Maybe... He didn't have to leave. Maybe they didn't hate him as much as he thought, they hadn't made him leave after all or said anything mean. Kurama hadn't even squeezed him all that hard, he just held him still until he had exhausted himself and then brought him here. Why though? He stood there by the window for a long time, and then shut it.

_'Everything is exactly the same as before I left,'_ He thought, seeing his books stacked in the corner like they had been before and the bear gazing at his bed from in front of the closet. He walked over to the dresser and opened it, seeing his clothes sitting there like he had left them. He closed the dresser and then went over to his bed and got onto his belly. He crawled under the bed and saw a sock he had left there, along with a few more dust bunnies.

_'...They didn't change my room?'_ He thought, confused. He crawled back out from under the bed and sat there. He looked down at his clothes and noticed someone had changed them to his old pajamas. They were a little small, which felt extremely odd since he had been wearing oversized clothes for around a year now, but comfortable. They smelled good, kind of flowery.

_'Oh yeah, the detergent,'_ He thought, pulling at his shirt a little. He sat down of the floor, looking around the room that had been his when he had lived there a year ago. He sat there a long time, quiet, and then walked over to where his bear was. He sat down again and looked at it for a long time, then sat beside it and leaned against it quietly. He felt frustrated, happy, confused, and upset all at the same time.

_'Why can't I just be one? Why not just a demon or just a kid? Why both?'_ He wondered, leaning against the bear's soft fur. _'I'm so confused.'_

* * *

Around the same time Hiei fell asleep, curled up beside his old bear, Nana fell asleep, holding her own bear close. As she slept her breathing slowly became shallow and labored. She bear had its head sitting right in front of the little girl's mouth and was inhaling a pale vapor from her mouth and nose. She moaned gently and turned her head away. The bear growled gently, and then fell silent.

* * *

Yukina picked up Hiei's small form and gently lifted him up from the ground. His head rolled slightly to the side and fell against her shoulder. She smiled and set the little demon in his bed, watching him roll over onto his side and snuggle into the mattress. She smiled and pulled the blanket over him, smiling gently. He squirmed around a little and then finally settled onto his back, head turned onto its side with his mouth open a little. Yukina giggled and got his bear, settling it beside him while he slept.

When Yukina left he pulled the bear a little closer and slept on it like it was a pillow.

**Note: I put together a bunch of ideas everyone gave me, what do you think and does anyone have any further ideas?**


	18. The Bear

**Note: Hmm, two endings... or one? Two endings... or one? Hm...**

Hiei woke early, tangled up in his sheets and blankets and half hanging off the bed. He jerked a little, and tumbled to the floor with a small cry of surprise. After a few more moments of struggling, he managed to free himself from his sheet and blanket cocoon and rolled onto the floor. He growled quietly and sat up, trying to stretch out his aching muscles. He'd forgotten how difficult it was to sleep in a bed after sleeping in a tree and on benches for so long. A bed was just too darn soft.

As he stretched he heard the door opening and Yukina stepped in. He instantly put his arms down and stared at her, silently waiting to see what would happen. Surely she would be angry with him, right? To his surprise, she smiled at him.

"Hey Hiei," she said, kneeling down and ruffling his hair gently. He stared at her, unspeaking and unable to understand why she wasn't angry either. Didn't anyone remember what he'd done? Why were they acting like it hadn't happened?! "Are you hungry?"

He nodded mutely, and then reached up and touched his mouth. He felt around the empty sockets where his canines had been and groaned, making Yukina laugh. He could remember losing them now, how he'd bitten into his apple and then had a small panic attack over all the blood he'd seen. He covered his face with his hands. How humiliating! Yukina watched the boy sit there, a shameful shade of pink, and hugged him gently. Hiei started and looked at his sister, utterly confused and now a little uncomfortable. She smiled and gently lifted his head, easing his mouth open to look at the empty sockets that had once held his teeth.

"They'll be coming in soon it looks like, I can see the tips already," She said, stroking his hair and then releasing him. She stood up and then pulled him to his feet. "Come on, you need to eat."

She held out her hand to him and Hiei stared at it silently. After a few moments he walked past her and to the door, where he waited for her to follow. She lowered her hand and both of them headed out into the hall.

* * *

Kuwabara watched Hiei stare out the window, sitting in his chair like he had normally done before, and wondered what he was thinking about. More then that, he wondered why they had been forced to bring Hiei back instead of Hiei returning on his own. Didn't he like being there with them? He had never complained before, so why did he leave? He started to open his mouth to ask him, and then the door opened.

Yusuke motioned for Kuwabara to come out, and he reluctantly left the room, casting one last glance back at the little fire demon who looked up briefly before he continued eating. Kuwabara shut the door behind him and turned to face the group of people before him: Botan, Yusuke, Kurama, and even Koenma in his teenage form.

"What's going on?" Kuwabara asked, seeing the serious looks on their faces. Botan spoke first.

"Yesterday four children were taken to different hospitals, all unresponsive and in many cases unconscious. Each of them had some kind of doll: porcelain, a stuffed animal, something that they refused to part with even when they stopped responding... Each child's soul had been stolen," She said, the last few words sinking into everyone slowly.

Yusuke looked down at the ground, a feeling of defeat and guilt weighing down on his heart. They had each had a demon to track and destroy, and he had been the only one to fail. He shook his head and pulled back his sleeve, checking his compass. It showed four points, all in separate areas. He lowered his wrist.

"It looks like it's already possessed some new dolls... Oh man, how do we kill it without it running away from us and possessing some new doll?" He said, staring down at the ground while he tried to puzzle out the answer. Koenma cleared his throat.

"Yusuke, you could try capturing or defeating it while it's jumping between dolls. While it has complete access to its spirit power inside a doll, its body is far too fragile to risk it while it moves between bodies... Didn't you notice when you broke its last container?" Koenma asked, looking at Yusuke. Yusuke looked at him with disbelief written in his features.

"Why didn't you tell me that sooner?! You mean I coulda had this thing earlier if you'd have told me about this stupid between body jump problem?!" He yelled, making Botan jump and then covers his mouth, shushing him.

"Shush Yusuke! We don't want Hiei to hear us!" She said, looking at him quietly. Behind Kuwabara there was a small sound, like a door sliding shut, and Yusuke cursed quietly. They headed into the kitchen and saw Hiei sticking his food on the counter. He turned and looked at them, his face no longer a child's.

"I'm coming too," he said, moving past them and into the hall. Koenma stumbled, nearly knocked over by the small child, and Botan made a sound of distress.

"Hiei no! You're just a child yourself and-"

"Do you think you fools are going to stop me?" He asked, grabbing his shoes and pulling them on. "I want to go and I want to help. I've got to." They watched him for a long time, and then Kurama spoke.

"Four possessed dolls, four of us, I think it makes perfect sense for him to come with us. This way we can go after each doll and not worry about what a stray one is doing while we destroy bits and pieces of it," He said, smiling. Hiei looked over at him, confusion shown clearly in his eyes.

'Does he even realize how openly he shows his emotions now?' Kurama wondered, smiling at his friend. He saw a little smile appear on the child's face and then he turned his head away, tying his shoes. Yusuke watched him and then smiled. Kuwabara grinned and roughly ruffled his hair, making the child wave his arms around and yell.

"Alright shrimpy, you take one doll and we'll get the rest, ok?"

* * *

They each went their separate ways. Yusuke took the south part of town, Kurama the east, and Kuwabara the west. Hiei was left with the doll closest to Genkai's temple, probably because they were worried that if they had him to somewhere further away he would run away again. He knew it, but he didn't mind. If they were letting him fight, then that meant they probably trusted him.

Probably anyways. He was distinctly aware that they still thought of him as a child, even though he had shown them all he had regained his memory. It was somewhat annoying, and somewhat comforting at the same time. He enjoyed knowing that they didn't think of him as a monster, but at the he didn't **want** to be treated like he was. He was **not** a little boy, darnit!

_'At least, I don't think I am,'_ he said, stopping close to the park and exhaling gently. If anyone had asked him before all this started whether or not he would ever choose to be a child again he'd probably have said no and then killed them for suggesting it. Now though... He didn't think it was that bad.

He liked being bigger, and he liked the power that came with it, but he could get that power back, couldn't he? He had a 'family' now. Not a very big one, and he didn't like everyone, but they were still there for him.

But they would be there for him when he got bigger too, right? He wasn't as vulnerable as an adult as he was now. Right now he was a target for anything looking for a snack, as an adult everything that was looking to eat him now would cower in fear.

But... He put his hands on his head and tried to focus. This wasn't the time! He had to go and get that demon. He started to walk and ran right into something soft, warm, and living. He jumped back, looked up, and saw himself reflected in a pair of warm eyes.

"Why, hello there little one. I didn't expect to see you again."

* * *

Yusuke found his doll, and yet again was forced to run away from an angry father and crying little girl. As soon as he was clear of them he pulled out the doll and lifted it into the air, bent of its destruction. The doll apparently had other plans. As soon as Yusuke held the doll above his head he began feeling a sudden, draining sensation that brought him to his knees.

Yusuke groaned, trying to lock his arms above his head and failing badly. His arms slowly fell to his sides, the doll falling to the ground in front of him. It was another porcelain doll, this one a baby doll with painted lips and hair. Its head was now scratched with slight black marks on its face.

"Aw man... Almost..." Yusuke murmured, suddenly feeling exhausted. He tried to get up, and felt his legs collapse under him. He was just so weak for some reason, but he couldn't figure out why. He looked at the doll, and saw its head turning towards him. The eyes were black, like the last doll's eyes.

"Stupid human... silly human... pathetic little worm," a voice hissed from within the doll's body. The arms went down and pushed it up, the doll slowly stood and then turned to look at Yusuke, its face still empty and immobile but its eyes blazing.

_'Oh crap, it wasn't doing this earlier... What happened to me?'_ He wondered, watching the doll approach him, hissing insults.

_'Once it is in possession of a child it slowly begins sapping the child's life force, and eventually devours the child's soul.'_

_'Oh yeah, now I remember,'_ Yusuke thought, eyeing the demon. 'I'm not a kid though, so I should still be strong enough to...' Yusuke forced his arm to move and grabbed the doll around the neck, hearing a small screech escape it. He lifted the doll into the air and then let him arm relax, smashing the doll down into the ground. He gasped as his strength returned and watched a small haze of spirit energy rise out of the doll. It condensed into a small ball, and then began to move. Yusuke rose his hand up and pointed his finger at the ball. It shivered and tried to shoot away, moving up and away from him as fast as it could. Yusuke gathered energy into the tip of his finger and smiled.

"Spirit gun!" She shot sped towards the ball and collided. The reaction wasn't really what he had expected though, instead of the ball being blown into pieces it was like the ball absorbed the energy and then overloaded. It crackled, sparked, and then blinked out of existence. The little shocks continued to spark and flash for a few moments before they stopped as well. Yusuke frowned a little.

"Weird."

* * *

Hiei stared into the eyes of the old woman, whose money he had taken not very long ago. She smiled at him, reaching into her coat for something, and seemed pleased to see him for some reason. He frowned and eyed her searching hand suspiciously. He felt a little foolish when she pulled a hard candy out of her pocket.

"Do you want one? They're butterscotch," She said, unwrapping a candy and putting it in her mouth. Hiei hesitated a moment before nodding and taking a candy. He smiled a little as he unwrapped it and put it in his mouth and she smiled back. He felt funny around this old woman, more at ease for some reason. Maybe because she had helped him so willingly before. Her frown suddenly became marked with worry.

"Little one, come, talk to me. You look very troubled," She said, touching the side of Hiei's face gently. Hiei didn't look at her for a moment, instead his eyes went down the street to where he could feel the demon. The old woman's eyes moved in the same direction and she smiled slightly.

"You must have a lot on your mind to be so silent. I'll tell you what, why don't you go on ahead to do whatever it is your going to do and meet me here a little later, okay?" She said, smiling. Hiei gave her a look, trying to let her know without saying anything that there was no way he was going to talk to her anyway. She just smiled and then hobbled along, leaving Hiei in an extreme sort of confusion.

_'...Maybe I should have mugged a teenager. These old people are weird.'_

* * *

Kurama found that he had no trouble getting rid of his doll. After locating it he had put the child under its hold to sleep and then had simply planted a seed within the doll, destroying it from the inside. This time it had been a ragdoll, which had screeched loudly as it was ripped to shreds. As the spirit energy had attempted to escape back to its original body, he had cut through it. The reaction caused was exactly the same as the reaction Yusuke had gotten. Sparks, lights, crackles, but why?

The only conclusion he could reach was that each doll contained a piece of the demons severed soul, giving each doll a small portion of its original powers and strength. When the job was done, the soul's and energy returned to the original body, where it was probably reabsorbed. What a strange demon, to take such risks. But then again, the prey it attacked didn't have much of a chance of fighting back.

Kuwabara was beginning to freak out. **Really** freak out. Not only was the doll floating, it seemed to be singing and phasing in and out of sight!

"Ushiro no shoumen dare?" It sang playfully, vanishing from sight and reappearing just behind him. Kuwabara jerked around and swung his sword, missing the little doll by inches. It was a small, plastic thing that looked horribly ugly, probably even before it had been possessed. He swung wildly at it while the doll sang 'Kagome, Kagome' softly, like they were playing some messed up game of tag or Oni.

"Come on! Hold still for a second!" He yelled, looking both angry and scared. Dolls were always creepy on their own, but -talking- dolls? He swung, cutting an arm off and heard a screech escape the doll's unmoving lips. It swore at him, suddenly launching itself at him like a small missile. He screamed loudly and swung the sword in a large curve, cutting the doll in half and causing another ear splitting shriek to come out of the doll.

A haze floated out of the doll and he slashed blindly again, cutting it in half. When the sparks came, he was out of screams.

* * *

_'Let me out Nana, let me out'_

Nana sat against her closet door, shaking her head with her hands over her ears. She didn't like that bear. She -hate- that bear. It was scary and it kept trying to make her do the strangest and most awful things. Telling her to push children down stairs, dump the water that was boiling on the stove on the family pet, to hurt her family in such awful ways... she shook her head again.

"No! I hate you! I hate you!"

_'Nana! Let me out of this closet right now!'_

"No!"

The door on the closet began to slide open and Nana forced it shut again. She wanted to scream, but she felt so tired. It was like the closer she was to the bear, the worse it got...

**Note: ...Child ending... Adult ending... both? Three separate endings? Gah.**


	19. The Choices

**Note:... It's raining! It's pouring! ...Dunno if Grandpa is snoring...**

Hiei looked up at Nana's house, feeling nervous and gittery. The lights were on inside, but it looked like everyone may have gone for a drive or something because the car was gone. He thought he could hear a voice inside, yelling something, but he wasn't sure. That was what made him nervous and gittery, the tone he thought he had heard in that voice. It was fearful. After a few moments he headed around to the back of the house and looked up at the window there. It suddenly shivered, and the lock undid itself. It slowly slid open, and Hiei jumped up onto the window sill and he slipped in.

He could feel the demon's energy close by, and very close to that he could feel Nana's energy. It was faint, very faint, and he quickly headed in that direction. He heard the gentle padding of footsteps behind him and turned around, nearly attacking without looking. Nana's family cat stood there and stared at him, twitching its tail. He swore quietly and shooed the thing away before continuing along. Soon he stood outside Nana's bedroom door, his hand on the doorknob.

_'I could leave now. I could leave and I'd never have to deal with her, or her irritating comments or...'_

_' "I like you, you're not intimidated, what's your name kid?" '_

He pushed open the door without thinking, hoping he hadn't gotten there too late. He saw the small red head sitting in front of the closet, her head bowed and her face white. She could have been sleeping, but she looked like she was having a lot of trouble breathing. He ran over to her and gently shook her by the shoulders, trying to wake her up. Her head rolled from side to side, and finally she opened her eyes and looked at him. Her eyes looked glazed, like someone on too much medication or too many drugs. He knew she was on neither.

"Don't... I've gotta keep... the door..." She mumbled while he picked her up and set her in her bed. She tried to get out, but she could barely move as it was. She just suceeded in nearly crashing into the floor, and Hiei was able to keep her from doing that by pushing a pillow up against her side to keep her from moving. She struggled for a moment and then went still, too tired to remain awake and fighting. Hiei turned away and looked at the closet she had been sitting in front of. The door was slowly sliding open...

* * *

Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara all met up outside the park, checking to see who was done and who was not. With Hiei obviously absent and the rest of them there, it was not a difficult thing to figure out. Yusuke pulled back his sleeve and checked his compass. It pointed down the street, and if memory served him correctly, straight towards Nana's house. he pulled his sleeve down and looked in that direction, worried for both children. 

"Think they're okay?" He asked, not looking away from the street. "I mean, I know Hiei is still strong and everything, but his friend is there and she's not. I don't think he'd let her intentionally get caught in the crossfire, but I don't think he would be willing to not fight that demon either."

Kurama nodded, and began walking in the direction of Nana's home. "We can get her out of the way, so he won't have to hold back at all." After a general agreement the three friends headed towards Nana's home.

* * *

Hiei cried out as claws struck his shoulder and side. He hit the floor and quickly forced himself back up. The demon had apparently collected many souls, because it had managed to change the form of the teddy bear it had posessed into something a little less cuddly and much more dangerous. Claws extended from the paws like nails and the bear itself looked like it had been stretched beyond what it could handle. Something continually squirmed beneath the surface of the fabric. 

_'It figures you'd manage to get one of the only toys in Japan to be posessed by a demon,'_ Hiei thought, glancing at Nana and then seizing the demon with his jagan the heaving it out the window. The thing instantly began crawling back towardsthe window and nearly suceeded in entering the room again, until Hiei knocked it back out. He quickly climbed out the window, shutting it behind him, and stood to face the bear. It throbbed and pulsed, its empty black eyes studying him carefully.

_'Fool knows not what he is and dares to challenge me,'_ It hissed at him, the voice and words more a feeling then a sound. Hiei rose his hand and began to gather heat into his palm, only to be interupted by a flash of claws. He tried to block the blow, but as soon as the creature made contact with him he felt weak and drained. He jumped back from the demon and took a few deep breaths.

_'It's draining my life from me, like it's been doing to Nana,'_ He thought, feeling his arm grow steadily wetter with his freshly spilled blood. He smiled a little. The other demon hadn't been this strong, it was kind of enjoyable to be fighting something worth his time. It had been a while. The two demons charged at each other, striking with the hopes of landing a fatal blow. Hiei's face had four cuts across the left side and the bear had lost an ear. They turned to exchange blows again, and this time Hiei managed to set the side of it aflame. The screech he heard made him cringe.

_'Little child dares to injure me! No more of this! I'll kill you now and devour your soul, and then that brat's soul!'_ It hissed at him, charging again. Hiei began to dodge and tripped. He gasped as he felt claws pierce his side...

* * *

Kurama could smell the blood before they reached Nana's home and quickly identified it as Hiei's. He and Kuwabara ran to the backyard where the smell was strongest while Yusuke ran inside to check on Nana. What they saw in the yard made their blood run cold. It was Hiei, looking slightly limp and pale, stuck on the end of a demonic teddy bear's claws. The thing had its face close to Hiei's and was inhaling deeply, growing larger and larger with each breath. 

"Hiei!" Kuwabara yelled, seeing the still little demon. The bear looked over at him and growled, lowering Hiei slightly. It eyed them both with contempt.

_'You two... your the ones that killed my other selves,'_ it hissed, the body of the bear still stretching and pulsing within the fabric. It was slowly stretching itself to roughly Kuwabara's size, making it freakishly thin and disfigured. He began to charge at them and Kuwabara pulled out his spirit sword. Kurama began to draw his whip, and stopped. The bear stopped too.

Slowly, slowly, Hiei's hand came up and grasped the bear's claws in his side. His hand closed over them and began to tighten. The boy looked p at the bear and smiled. "I'm not done playing with you yet," He said, breaking the claws and cutting his hands. The bear screeched loudly and tried to pull away, but Hiei quickly reached out and grasped the thing's arm. It screeched again and began struggling, but it was no use. Hiei smiled as his body began heating up, the heat slipping out of him and gathering around his hands.

"Bye," He said, the demon suddenly going up in flames. It screeched again and the bear crumbled, a haze rising out of it. He stuck his hand in the middle of it and let out another burst of flames, watching the last of the demon's soul crackle and die. He stood there for a long time, and then choked on something hot and coppery rising in his throat. He felt two hands touch his back, and saw red splash onto the ground. Then everything went dark.

* * *

"Is he okay?" Kuwabara asked, remembering how pale Hiei had suddenly gotten after coughing up the blood. Yukina smiled at him and he managed to smile back. 

"Don't worry Kazuma, he's going to be fine. The claws managed to hit some vital spots, but I think we got them out quick enough and I think the wounds have healed well. He'll just need to rest for a little while," She said, setting down a first aid kit and going to wash her hands. He nodded and looked into the boy's bedroom, seeing his still, sleeping face. It was hard to imagine that he had destroyed a demon just a few hours ago, and that he had done it so brutally. Kurama had wondered, aloud, whether or not Hiei had allowed himself to be caught so he would be close enough to attack the bear. Kuwabara wasn't sure, but he did know that if he saw the child do it again he'd give him a few lumps. It had been scary watching him cough up all that blood.

"You better not do anything like that again, Shrimpy. I'm suppose to protect you, remember?" He asked, slowly closing the door and heading away. Hiei opened his eyes and smiled a little.

_'It's so easy to fool them,'_ He thought, slowly getting up and going to his dresser. He pulled out a large sweater and a pair of pants. After dressing, he pulled on his slippers and opened the window, slipping out into the cold. _'That old lady said she'd be at the park...'_

* * *

"Hello little one, I wondered when you'd return," the old woman said, smiling at him. Had she been there the whole time? She must have been freezing! Hiei walked to the bench she sat at and climbed into the spot beside her. She opened her coat and pulled him into it with her, making him wince from pain. He was slightly surprised. _'She's so warm,'_ He thought, feeling suddenly drowsy. He shook his head to clear it and heard the old woman chuckled. 

"So, have you decided whether or not you want to talk to me? I only offered because I'm a stranger, and there's a good chance we'll never meet again, so I want to help. You don't have to worry about anything you say coming back to haunt you," She said, smiling at the white park trees. Hiei looked up at her, wondering if she had decided to do this the same day he had tried to steal her money.

"Why are you making that kind of offer to me?" He asked, curious as to way exactly she kept going out of her way to help him. She smiled and suddenly kissed the top of his head, as though he were her grandchild or something. She gentlystroked his hair with her thin, slightly knobby hand.

"Because I don't think it's right for a child to have to steal and beg for money. You must have been out there for a reason, and if you feel you want to express that reason then I want to try to help," She said gently, settling Hiei's head against her arm. He didn't fight, feeling tired from blood loss and slightly drowsy from the warm coat. He struggled and stretched, thinking over what she had said. He finally started talking.

"I... I have this family, see, and they're not all my family by blood, they just take care of me. I've been with them for a few years now, and they've never let me down. But... I keep thinking that they must hate me because I ran away for a long time, but they're not being mean to me. They seem... happy that I'm back," He said, looking up at the old woman, who nodded and smiled. He continued, "I don't understand it. They should hate me, but they just keep helping me out. I even called them names but, they just don't care..."

"Why did you leave?" The old woman asked, settling Hiei a little closer. He stretched again, trying to stay awake, before answering. "I left because... I was really confused. I mean, I started changing and I liked how I was changing but I didn't. I wanted to stay me, but... 'Me' was someone other then who I'd been. When I started turning into 'me' I ran away so that they wouldn't know and be upset..." Even as the words left his mouth, he felt foolish. It sounded so childish, but that was how he had felt. He heard the old woman begin to chuckle and cringed a little.

"Little one, you're always you," she said, making Hiei look up with some surprise. "It doesn't matter how you act, or what your doing, your always going to be the little boy I saw giving me back my money after he had gone through the trouble to steal it. It's your choice whether or not you become 'you' or stay like this, but you're never going to be anyone other then yourself."

The old woman smiled at him and Hiei felt odd. He put his face in her coat and struggled quietly with the tears that seemed to be trying to force themselves from his eyes. The old woman said nothing. She already understood.

**Note: ...That was -so- corny. I apologize for that, I really do... Ah yes, and sorry for the short chapter. The ending(s?) will be coming next.**


	20. The End  Child

**Note: Choose your own ending! This is the child one... SOO ITCHY!**

_'A house divided against itself cannot stand, I don't know who said it, but I believe it now. Around the same time my growth slowed, I became severely divided against myself. I was a child, yet I was a demon at the same time and the child part of myself hated my demon self. In the same way, my demon self was repulsed by my child self, and both sides conflicted with each other, struggling for dominance. When that old woman spoke to me, I expected it to be a bunch of motherly things, and I was right. I just never expected it to help me out._

_The division inside me began to settle, calm, and then stopped. I felt better for some reason, knowing that I was still myself and the seed hadn't changed that. I went back home, slipped through my bedroom window, and fell back asleep. I slept until Yukina came in and woke me up for dinner. I ate, and then slept some more. When I woke up, somewhere around midnight, I got up and went into Yukina's room. She woke and looked at me, smiling._

_'"What is it Hiei?" She asked, folding me into her arms. I fought with the idea for a moment, and dismissed it. I cuddled up there for a long time, happy and warm. I was fully demon and fully child. I was Hiei, and that wasn't ever going to change.'_

* * *

**One Month Later**

Snow had finally melted and flowers were beginning to come out. It was beautiful, peaceful, and serene... until two children followed by one tall teen who was seriously lagging behind came barreling down the sidewalk.

"Slow down!" Nana yelled from behind him, sounding frustrated. Hiei grinned and kept up his pace, happy he knew something he could do much better then her. He burst into the school yard, slowing down and then coming to a stop just inside the school gates. Nana stopped running at the gates and gave him a look as though thinking 'screw this' and walked over. She collapsed on the ground, gasping for breat and looking slightly flushed. Hiei sat down and looked very pleased with himself. He had been looking for a way to get back at her ever since she beat him on one of Genkai's games.

"Now who's a sissy?" He chirped, carefully edging out of hitting range. She looked up at him, eyes edging towards a glare, but then she grinned. "Yeah, yeah, I'm a sissy, so sue me," she said sitting back up and stretching. He heard the bones in her back crackle loudly and he winced.

He was still amazed she recognized him, though she couldn't recall a lot of the things they'd done together. The first thing she'd done once she was well again and recognized him was shove him, hard, onto his back. It had knocked the wind out of him and when he finally managed to ask why she'd done it she'd answered, "Because you pushed me, silly." Then she'd reached out to help him up. He had yanked her down too, gotten up, and run away as fast as he could. He was beginning to wonder if all human friendships started in such a way.

Yusuke had beaten Kuwabara senseless before they were friends, he had attacked Kurama in his human form before they became friends... Maybe humans were just weird.

"Hey Hiei?" Nana suddenly said, breaking him from his thoughts and memories. He looked up. "Hm?" She looked at him curiously, with a glint of teasing in her eyes.

"Do you like me?" Hiei almost choked. He stared at the girl who watched him curiously and felt himself turn red. It took a second to unglue his throat and when he did he instantly began to adamantly deny that he had any sort of interest in her THAT way. It was only after she began to roll on the ground, laughing loudly, that he realized she was kidding. His face went, if possible, a darker shade of crimson as she giggled.

"T-That's not funny!" He yelled, realizing she had been messing with him the whole time. She giggled and set her head against his shoulder briefly, the closest thing to a hug he would ever allow her to do. She smiled at him.

"Good, because I don't want to get grown up and married to you. I might have a kid with six heads or something," she said, grinning at his red, angry face. He looked away from her, making a mental note to ask Kurama what on earth that meant. "Oh yeah!" She said, grabbing her backpack and rummaging through it. He gazed at the bag curiously while she searched.

"Ta-daa!" She cried, holding out two taiyaki packages and smiling. "Look what I brought!" She said happily, tossing him one of the tasty treats. Hiei caught it, his anger disappearing suddenly, and smiled. "Thanks!"

"Welcome," She said with a little smile. "Hey, I won't steal licks from your ice cream for a week if you kiss the fish!"

"Nuh-uh! That's stupid!" Hiei cried, hearing Kuwabara's lurching footsteps finally approach. He looked over just in time to see him collapse as Nana screamed "Timber!" The two children busted into a fit of giggles over this, while Kuwabara laid there and tried to catch his breath. The bell rang and Nana stood up quickly.

"I'll save you a seat!" She yelled as she took off into the school building. Hiei waved a little then went over to Kuwabara. "Thanks for walking us to school today," He said, setting the taiyaki down on his chest. "See ya after school!" He called, running into the building.

"Man... he's just like an annoying little brother... doesn't listen, plays mean jokes, and then does this stuff to throw you for a loop," Kuwabara mumbled, sitting up and taking the taiyaki. He was smiling as he walked home.

**Note: Next ending, adult :)**


	21. The End Adult

**Note: Choose your own ending! This is the adult one...**

_'A house divided against itself cannot stand, I don't know who said it, but I believe it now. Around the same time my growth slowed, I became severely divided against myself. I was a child, yet I was a demon at the same time and the child part of myself hated my demon self. In the same way, my demon self was repulsed by my child self, and both sides conflicted with each other, struggling for dominance. When that old woman spoke to me, I expected it to be a bunch of motherly things, and I was right. I just never expected it to help me out._

_The division inside me began to settle, calm, and then stopped. I felt better for some reason, knowing that I was still myself and the seed hadn't changed that. I went back home, slipped through my bedroom window, and fell back asleep. By the time I awoke, I was normal again. Almost normal anyway...'_

* * *

**One Month Later**

Snow had finally melted and flowers were beginning to come out. It was beautiful, peaceful, and serene... until two children followed came barreling down the sidewalk at breakneck speeds.

"Slow down!" Nana yelled from behind the boy, sounding frustrated. The boy laughed and Nana began to push herself harder, catching up to the boy. Hiei watched from his perch, smiling a little. she was still just as competitive as she had been the first day of school, and still just as stubborn. He watched Nana finally pull ahead of the boy, much to the other child's surprise, and almost beat him to the school yard until she tripped and fell with a small cry. Hiei hopped down from his perch and approached the small girl who was rubbing her palms against her skirt.

"Do you need any help?" He asked, offering her his hand to get up. She looked up at him and her mouth dropped open an inch. She took his hand and he helped her up and began to head away, not saying anything as he left.

"Hey, wait! Do I know you?" She called, startling him. He looked at her and saw a foggy sort of recognition in her eyes. He settled down, realizing how vague her recollection must be, and shook his head. "No, I don't think you know me kid." Nana nodded, frowning but accepting what he had said. She smiled cheerfully at him. "Well, thank you sir for helping me. B'Bye!" And with that she ran away, heading towards the school yard and yelling to her friend. Hiei watched his childhood friend leave, smiling some.

"How is she doing?" Hiei looked behind him and saw Kurama standing there. The kitsune smiled at him and walked over while Hiei turned back to watch the children some more. "She's been doing well. She's regained all of her energy, and she has no recollection of anything that happened with her bear," Hiei answered, leaving out Nana's sudden remembrance of him. Kurama nodded, quiet.

"Yukina wanted all of us to go to Genkai's temple for Yusuke's birthday. Would you like to join us?" He asked, feeling hopeful but expecting nothing. To his surprise, Hiei nodded without much hesitation. "Sure, I don't have anything for a gift though, will that be a problem?"

"Not at all," Kurama said, smiling. They both turned away from the school and began walking back to Genkai's temple, where things were already underway for Yusuke's party. Yukina quickly rounded Hiei up in the decorating and Kurama had to laugh, which earned him a very cold glare. He smiled and continued to help blow up balloons. _'They're just like siblings now. Ever since he turned into a child, they've been getting closer and closer,'_ He thought, watching Yukina point to places for streamers while Hiei put them up. He smiled and turned away while they continued working on the party.

**Note: Next the after story party!! WHOO-HOO!**


	22. End Party!

**AFTER STORY PARTY! WHOOOO!**

**LShaune**: Hello and welcome to the after story party, where I sit here and talk a lot about things I plan on doing, but will probably never do. Anyway! Let's talk to the cast here that made this story possible, shall we? First, the main character, Hiei!

**Child Hiei**: LShaune? Can I have some sweet snow?

**LShaune**: ...Where's the big Hiei?

**Child Hiei**: He's with Vhee I think... Can I? Please, please, please?

**LShaune**: (And they wonder why I made him a kid... SO CUTE! XD) Sure, over there on the table... Don't give yourself a tummy ache!

**Child Hiei**: I won't!

**LShaune**: Anywho, next up is Nana, Hiei's little friend from the story!

**Nana**: Hiya :)

**LShaune**: So Nana, tell us, why was your uniform so dirty when you first met Hiei?

**Nana**: Oh, that? It's 'cause I was playing in the dirt and making pies before the take. Hiei wouldn't play with me... sissy.

**Child Hiei**: Shut up! -Throws sweet snow/ice cream at Nana-

**Nana**: Eep! Cold! Cold! Cold! -Begins throwing ice cream at Hiei- You jerk!

**LShaune**: O.O Um, moving right along! -Runs away from the ice cream fight- Anyways, Keiko!

**Keiko**: Hello -Waves-

**LShaune**: I know you didn't have many parts in the story, but could you tell me why every time we saw you you were beating Yusuke senseless?

**Keiko**: Yes, he had forgotten our date!

**LShaune**: ...You mean each time we saw you and you were mad it was because... Is he that forgetful?

**Keiko**: Yes...

**LShaune**: I feel for you honey. Now, Botan!

**Botan**: Hello there!

**LShaune**: Heya Botan! Now, there were some viewers that believed there might have been something between you and Hiei since he didn't like to see you cry, any thoughts on that?

**Botan**: Well, while he was _extremely_ cute as a child, I don't think I'd wanted to have dated him. He's so small...

**LShaune**: -Looks around for adult Hiei- Better hope he doesn't hear you sayin' that sistah! Anyway, Koenma! How do you feel about being largely useless during the story?

**Koenma**: Eh? What? -Wakes up from nap, stretches- I'm sorry, what were you saying?

**LShaune**: Never mind... Eh, Kuwabara? If there is a second installment with Hiei as a child still, can we expect you to take care of him as you promised in 'Clean Slate'?

**Kuwabara**: You bet! It's a part of my code, my honor, my- YUKINA!

**LShaune**: Such a short attention span... Yukina! A word?

**Yukina**: Yes?

**LShaune**: As we saw in the story, you and little Hiei grew extremely close during his time as a child. How do you feel about him now?

**Yukina**: Oh, he was so much fun to have around! He did his chores, wanted to help with dinner, and always tried to keep me safe. He was such a good little guardian...

**Child Hiei**: -Blush- Yukina! Stop it, that's embarrasing!

**LShaune**: Aw! So cute. Oo! Oo! Yusuke! Hey, over here!

**Yusuke**: What do you want now?

**LShaune**: How'd you like being part of Hiei's little 'family'? Was it annoying? Enjoyable? Satisfying?

**Yusuke**: It wasn't really that bad. We'd go see him at the temple most everyday and Hiei always wanted to play, color, wrestle, ya know. Typical kid stuff. Gotta admit though, he had a nice right hook for a kid...

**LShaune**: Truly fascinating. KURAMA!

**Kurama**: Ow! I'm right here.

**LShaune**: Ah... gomen -Sweatdrop- Erm, anyway! How'd you like having Hiei as a child?

**Kurama**: It was very fun, actually. Hiei changed so much as a child, I don't think I've ever seen him laugh that much in my life and he looked so innocent. It was really something to see. Of course, he did pull some mean tricks on us all, like the time we all teased him about Nana being his girlfriend.

**LShaune**: Oh really? What happened?

**Kurama**: It involved a priest, a cop, and someone of a questionable occupation. I still don't know how he did it, but we're still paying for the psychiatric bills...

**LShaune**: ...I just won't ask. Genkai! What do you have to say about all this?

**Genkai**: Well, I liked having him over at my house, and he was very cute. Even through his bedwetting (Hiei: GENKAI!!) he never lost his charm... And I _loved_ crushing him in my video games...

**LShaune**: ...Disturbing if true. Anyway! There may be a second installment following Hiei's life as he grows up. Why? 'Cause I like extra short Hiei, that's why :)

**Nana**: Eep! Hiei, stop it! I'm covered in ice cream! -Throws a handful at him-

**Child Hiei**: Don't be a wuss, you wuss!

**Nana**: You're the wuss! You can't even kiss a fish cake!

**Child Hiei**: That's because it's stupid! Brat!

**Nana**: Sissy!

**Child Hiei**: Prima donna!

**Nana**: Short!

**Child Hiei**: -Gasp!- You take that back!

**LShaune**: Erm, slight crisis people. Anyway, see you all later! -Runs off screen- Hiei! Put that dragon away, now!


	23. Preview to Kissing Fish

**Note: Simply a preview of 'Kissing Fish' a humor/friendship story I might do. Think I should continue?**

The smell of blood hung thick in the air, growing steadily thicker as a small shadow shot through groups of demons, sword flashing and flames burning. Picking off those that had not been cut down were three teenagers, one with a sword, one with a gun, and one with a whip. None of these items, however, looked anything like normal human items. The whip was a green, thorny vine and the sword and gun were made of crackling energy. The small, darting shadow suddenly paused and looked back at the lagging group, wondering if they had always been this slow. Probably.

"Hey Hiei, slow down kid!" Yusuke yelled, panting slightly as he caught up to the small demon. Hiei smiled a little, unable to help but feel a little pride at how fast he was compared to his family and friends. He was small for his age, slender, with dark hair, pale skin, and red eyes. He was also eight years old. Kurama caught up next, and then Kuwabara who nearly collapsed on the ground from exhaustion.

"That's it, I'm dead, I can't hack it," Kuwabara said, wincing as Hiei poked him in the side with his scabbard. Kurama reached over and grabbed the child's wrist, making him stop. "Leave him alone Hiei, he's very tired," He said, making Hiei pull a face.

"It's not my fault the fool's so slow," He mumbled, reluctantly keeping his scabbard to himself. Kuwabara shot the child a glare which was returned with a protruded tongue. Yusuke quickly put himself between the two children, holding up his hands to keep them apart. "Settle down, kids, we're not quite done here yet and I'd hate to have people die just because you can't get along."

Hiei turned away from Kuwabara, arms crossed, and made a sound of disgust. At nearly the same moment he heard a similar sound of disgust. When he looked he saw Kuwabara in the -exact same- position as he was. Hiei let out a small cry of horror which made the other three turn to look at him. He pointed at Kuwabara, a look of real panic on his face. "I'm turning into you!"


End file.
